Last year’s mixed doubles semifinalists secure two quarterfinals each tomorrow at the All England Open 2021.
The already special tournament on the calendar is particularly precious for the home pair Marcus Ellis/ Lauren Smith. They lost to eventual title winners Praveen Jordan/ Melati Oktavianti in three games last year at the semifinal stage, the closest and English pair has been to reach the final since Anthony Clark/ Donna Kellogg in 2007, which was a year after Nathan Robertson/ Gail Emms winning the title in 2006.
Marcus Ellis/ Lauren Smith perhaps underestimated their young Danish opponents today, Rasmus Espersen/ Christine Busch, who scored a good win over their compatriots Nøhr/ Magelund at the Swiss Open two weeks ago. After a tight opening game, they were however able to step it up in the second and win 21-19 21-13.
-It was OK. We can do a lot better. We got the job done. Hopefully, there are better things to come tomorrow, because it was just about good enough. They say the best wins are the ones when you don't play as well. I disagree - I want to play well, win or lose. We're our biggest critics, as well. I'm sure our coach will have some criticisms. We know what we did wrong and what we did right today and what we need to step up tomorrow. Ellis said firmly.
-I think we just chose the wrong tactics, playing in quite a small court, which is where they're strong. It certainly wasn't the prettiest or best game we've ever played. It would have been quite easy to get down and dejected in that first game but we stuck in. Credit goes to our character at that moment, we delivered when it mattered. Smith concluded.
Ellis/ Smith will now play Denmark’s Mikkel Mikkelsen/ Rikke Søby who are in the quarterfinal for the first time.
Ellis and Smith’s busy Friday
Marcus Ellis/ Chris Langridge imposed their authority over a young English pair, winning 21-9 21-13 against Callum Hemming/Steven Stallwood.
-The lads played really well yesterday, they beat a good Danish pair. It was a closer game than the score suggested, said Langridge.
Their quarterfinalist opponents will be the number three seeds, Takeshi Kamura/ Keigo Sonoda, whom they have not beaten in their three encounters.
Chloe Birch/ Lauren Smith scored a dominant 21-14 21-11 win over Isabella Nielsen/Marie Louise Steffensen.
Their quarterfinal opponents will be the number one seeds, Yuki Fukushima/ Sayaka Hirota, who like the above head-to-head, have not lost in their three previous encounters. Although, their match at the Denmark Open 2020 ended 19-21 in the deciding game.