Verdonschot: “It’s just perfect for me!” | OneFootball

Wim Verdonschot, the first matches of your first rookie season in the Bundesliga are behind you. How satisfied were you going into the short break in play?“I have to say, I really couldn’t have hoped for a better start. After losing my first match, I played really, really well and I also feel very comfortable in the team. Everyone is super nice, it’s just perfect for me! I’m now at 3:1 wins — and I’m super happy about that.”

You celebrated your first Bundesliga win against Romain Ruiz of TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt. Ruiz, meanwhile, is one of the few players in the Bundesliga who has already beaten Olympic champion and superstar Fan Zhendong. Does that make your success even more memorable?“Of course I noticed Ruiz’s big win; he really does play very aggressively and is very awkward to face. Especially if you don’t return well, he keeps the rallies extremely short and executes it extremely well too. I had already played against him before at a Feeder tournament, so I knew what was coming. Naturally, the fact that I was able to get my first TTBL win against him makes me very happy.”

What differences have you noticed so far between the second division and the TTBL?“The biggest difference is definitely the nerves. In my first TTBL matches, I was much, much more nervous than in the second division, because all the attention and everyone’s focus is only on one table and no longer on two tables. You can feel that, in that moment when you’re playing, it’s only about you. That’s just incredible, but I think the feeling in the TTBL is really, really cool.”

Is the Bundesliga only more demanding in terms of quality, or does the top division also bring out different emotions?“Of course it’s more demanding in terms of quality, but the focus, the nerves and the joy really are something completely different. Winning with the team, keeping the points at home or winning away — it’s just an indescribable feeling.”

Which of your experiences in the Bundesliga so far has been the most valuable to you?“There are two things. On the one hand, my win against Ruiz, because it was my very first success in the Bundesliga and therefore a real milestone for me. On the other hand, reaching the Final4 in the cup was a valuable experience for us. For me, both have also been the most beautiful moments so far. But it’s also important to me that I realized how much your own successes can mean: I was very sad after the defeat in my first TTBL match, and then training didn’t go so well either. But after my wins, first against Ruiz and then in the two matches that followed, I can feel that those successes give you an unbelievable amount of confidence.”

“I have to admit that what really surprised me was that practically everything now revolves around nerves and tension in the match, and just how big they really are in the end. I had thought that, yes, I was coming from the second division, but otherwise I play quite well, so a TTBL match would be like any other league match — but that just wasn’t the case at all. That incredible tension really surprised me.”

At the beginning of January, as you already mentioned, Dortmund’s first appearance in the Cup Final4 is on the schedule for BVB and for you. Is that already an event that is giving you butterflies of anticipation, or is it still too far away?“After qualifying for the Final4 during the cup weekend in Nuremberg, we were already dreaming a little on the journey back. That alone shows that the anticipation is already there now. Of course, a lot can still happen before the Final4, but we’re already incredibly excited.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.