On Day One in Odense, European top players had to accept defeats. Brice Leverdez, as well as Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith, got knocked out in the first round.
As the first match of the day in men’s singles, Brice Leverdez was playing against Khosit Phetpradab from Thailand. The Thai won after two games, 21-15 and 21-14.
Brice Leverdez was disappointed by his performance:
- I have to improve a lot: my attitude on court and my skills in men’s singles. Khosit played very relaxed, I did not push him at all.
An English defeat
Next, to Leverdez, two further European players have been knocked out in round one in Denmark: Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith.
The English mixed double who won the YONEX Dutch Open last week, lost against the Chinese pair Wang Yilyu who is seeded number two and Huang Dongping.
- We played against a better-ranked pair, we were not 100 per cent ready for the match. But that is how it is sometimes, says Marcus Ellis after the match.
- We had a great last week, so it is emotionally and mentally difficult to play now. But we did not play how we wanted to play today. We will learn from this, to get better, explains Lauren Smith.