1. FC Saarbrücken has won the first of four German semifinals in the Table Tennis Champions League.
Germany international Patrick Franziska’s team beat Bundesliga rivals Post SV Mühlhausen in Thuringia 3-1 in the first leg.
The world number 13. Franziska won two singles against the Austrian Daniel Habesohn and the Romanian Ovidiu Ionescu. The Slovenian Darko Jorgic also scored for the Saarlanders against Ionescu. Steffen Mengel got the only point for Mühlhausen against the Belgian Cedric Nuytinck to 1:2.
The second leg takes place in Saarbrücken on Sunday. In the second semi-final, German cup winners TTC Neu-Ulm and German champions Borussia Düsseldorf meet on Wednesday and Sunday. German clubs are also dominating the current Champions League season so much because top Russian clubs Fakel Orenburg and UMMC Yekaterinburg were excluded from the competition because of the Russian attack on Ukraine.