Given the arguable dominance of Asia and Denmark in world badminton, it is a refreshing surprise to have two men’s doubles pairs from England in the semifinals of a Super 750 tournament.
Ben Lane/ Sean Vendy reached their first top-tier semifinal today, following in the footsteps of their senior compatriots Marcus Ellis/ Chris Langridge. Having beaten the top German pair in the second round, they extended their clean record against Jones Ralfy Jansen/Peter Kaesbauer to 4-0 in yesterday’s quarterfinal.
-We knew coming into this tournament that we had a good chance. We had some solid training during the last couple of months, Lane said.
Training pays dividends
The English pair had a convincing win over the Germans yesterday, 21-18, 21-13. They acknowledged the hard work behind their success.
- It shows that a lot of stuff we have been working on in the practice is coming onto the court now. It is nice to see this all coming together, Lane enthused.
- A 3-0 record against them gave us confidence. Germany is strong in men’s doubles and we faced their top two pairs. That is a great feat and we are very proud, Vendy said.
- We also defended really well, particularly against Lamsfuss/ Seidel, so that was encouraging, Lane added.
The English serve
After their quarterfinal loss against Ellis and Langridge, the Popovs appreciated the English serve return game.
- Their game is very structured and built around one-two-three shots. We would like to learn their serve return. This is something that they do better than the rest of us, they mutually agreed.
Challenging the Russians
With both the English pairs in the opposite halves of the draw, Lane and Vendy will be more than eager to set up an all-English final as they face the mighty Russians tomorrow.
- We are really looking forward to playing Ivanov and Sozonov. We are in the same Indian PBL team as Ivanov. We know him quite well. We hope to give them a good battle and see who comes out on top, Vendy was determined.
- Didn’t the Russians nearly lose today, Lane chuckled, implying that perhaps the Russians should not be too confident of getting past them. The men’s doubles semifinals will certainly be interesting watches today!