Poor Timo Boll must be having a midlife crisis. The German table tennis player is only two months from his fortieth birthday, but his behavior is increasingly juvenile. Just look at his performance in today's TTBL Liebherr Cup Final. The captain of the Borussia Düsseldorf went undefeated, playing like someone half his age. Boll and company first faced defending champions ASV Grunwettersbach in the semifinals. His Swedish teammates Anton Kallberg and Kristian Karlsson split their matches, putting pressure on the ageless Boll to carry them through. Rising to the challenge, the inexplicably youthful Boll won both of his matches to secure a spot in the finals. There, Borussia Düsseldorf met TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen, led by the top player in the league, Brazil's world #6 Hugo Calderano. Of course, Boll is no slouch himself at world #10, and played like the younger, hungrier athlete today. Leading two games to one, Boll fell behind in the fourth as Calderano claimed four game points at 10-6. After winning the next two points on his serve, Boll's confidence grew. As Calderano served with the game on his racket, Boll kept the pressure on "the thrill from Brazil." With two more points to Boll, it was suddenly deuce. A deflated Calderano, who can solve a Rubik's Cube in seconds, could not solve the puzzle as Boll stole the game and match with six straight points. Like Michael Jordan on the Bulls, the clutch Boll still needed help to win the team championship. In the final, he got none from the normally dependable Anton Kallberg, who was the team's MVP in 2020 but lost today to Ochsenhausen's Simon Gauzy. With the match tied, Boll regained the advantage with a sweep of American champion Kanak Jha. With yet another win, Boll set up teammate Kristian Karlsson to be the hero. The world #29 Karlsson did not disappoint, upsetting Hugo Calderano to claim the championship for Borussia Düsseldorf. As Boll celebrated the win with the joyous abandon of a carefree whippersnapper, one could only wonder to what lengths the aging workhorse would go to continue indulging in such juvenile antics. With the World Championships and Olympics looming large this year, it is sad to imagine the puerile display an elusive singles medal might elicit in the old boy. In any case, as long as he keeps playing like a youngster, who can say he is not entitled to act like one?

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