Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith lost a close quarterfinal match to the current world-ranked number one pair, Zheng Siwei/ Huang Yaqiong, in Paris.
After winning a close and intense match on Thursday, Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith had to face Zheng Siwei/ Huang Yaqiong in the quarterfinal of the YONEX French Open on Friday.
42 minutes did the match between the English and the Chinese pair last, before the favourite from China won, with 21-16 and 21-19.
An intense fight
After the match, the spectators in the Stade Pierre de Coubertin were celebrating the English pair for their fight and their strength of will.
- We wanted to impose our game style and see what we can do with our strengths. A lot of pairs are afraid of playing against the best pair in the world, but we decided to take this fight today, Lauren Smith said after the match.
- It was my first Super-Series-750 quarterfinal, which was really exciting for me. We had two good wins before the match today, she added.
A short comeback
Thereby, Ellis/Smith was leading in the second game with 11-4, before their Chinese opponents came back and won the match.
- We are very disappointed to not take it to the third game. They changed the tactic and we did not respond. But there is a reason that they are the best in the world right now, Lauren Smith said.
Confidence for the future
Marcus Ellis is happy about the performance in Paris.
- The last few weeks, we delivered some good performances and wins. We have the confidence to believe that we can beat the best pairs in the world, when we play our best, he said.
For the English pair, there are two more tournaments on the agenda for the rest of the year: the SarLorLux and the Scottish Open.
- Let’s see, maybe we can win these two tournaments and finish the year on a high, Ellis said.