Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith could not have asked for a better start, as they have beaten the holders of the European Games in rapid style, in Minsk.
The pair from Great Britain came up against a Danish pair, Niclas Nøhr and Sara Thygesen who have beaten the English couple before.
Winning is the ambition
Ellis and Smith believe that despite a comfortable win on the first day, taking the foot off the gas is not on the agender as they look to win, and win big.
- We know that we are capable of beating everyone here, we have come here to win, we know we can, Lauren Smith said.
The Doubles pair who are the second seeds at the European Games were delighted to win the toughest match.
- I think it was more comfortable than we thought it would be. For sure they are the toughest opponents in our group, Ellis told Badminton Europe.
- We are really happy that we have managed to win in such a comfortable fashion.
- We are not taking anything for granted because anyone can perform well on any particular day, he added.
Strong mentality
Ellis opening up in his post-match interview really spoke about how playing two events has helped both him and Smith be the players they are in Mixed Doubles.
- We have used our doubles to make our Mixed, a bit more different. I wouldn’t say that we have a very typical mixed style, Ellis said.
- Lauren is strong around the back and I like to go forward as well, so we can really inflict our movement on people, he continued.
The pair have shown confidence both on and off court, and that really came out when Ellis spoke about the mentality of him and Smith.
- I don’t think there are many pairs out there in my opinion who can get as much back as we can, and will fight as much as we can, the 29-year old said.
- That is something that we will always bring to the court, no matter how bad of a day, we are having. So if people want to beat us, they have to work hard and play well, he added.