The All England champions four years ago, Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov, went on a brilliant run this year. One that began to strike real similarities to their title victory, which also fell in an Olympic year.
Everything was falling into place and with their perfect head to head record against the sixth-seeded Japanese pair of Yuta Watanabe and Hiroyuki Endo, the final was calling. However, it was not to be, as their opponents had worked out a formula to defeat them. Watanabe after the match explained.
-We watched not to drop our defensive line and used the mistakes of the opponents for our own points. So, we are glad that this worked out.
We had a great chance to win and reach the finals
Visibly disappointed following the defeat, Sozonov explains his view on why the Japanese were able to take the win on this occasion.
-They played really well. They were faster all around the court and at the net. They were also very aggressive in the mid-court and played drop shots. We were not prepared for their speed today.
The Russian pair have had a great week in Birmingham, so reflecting on the All England performance as a whole, Sozonov gives his thoughts.
-Of course, we are disappointed, but it is not a bad result, I think. Today we had a great chance to win and reach the finals, but they played really well, so now we are a little bit disappointed.
With the recent news of tournament suspensions, players plans for the coming weeks are significantly impacted. Discussing this, Sozonov stated.
-Yes, I think the whole world is following the news now. Of course, this situation is not good for us. We found our good game and really want to play more at tournaments to build our confidence. Now we have a one-month break, we practise and prepare for hopefully the European Championships at the end of April.