Chris Adock praises home fans after mixed doubles progress at Yonex All England Open Championships

Chris Adcock admits home advantage was the difference after cruising through the first round of the mixed doubles at the YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham.
Chris and Gabby AdcockChris and Gabby Adcock
Chris and Gabby Adcock

Playing alongside wife Gabby, Adcock saw off Markis Kido and Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth 21-15, 21-8 at the Barclaycard Arena on Wednesday.

After a reasonably slow start, the British pair soon hit their straps and, spurred on by a vocal home crowd, blew away the Indonesian duo in double quick time in the second set.

The Adcocks are seeded sixth and have a legitimate chance of becoming the first Brits to lift an All England title since Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms won the mixed doubles crown a decade ago and Chris was delighted to get their campaign underway with minimal fuss.

“It did feel pretty comfortable in the end,” he explained. “I think the scores in the sets speak for themselves really.

“We could never underestimate that pair – we have lost to them in the past, albeit quite a long time ago.

“Since then we have played them quite a few times and seem to have found a plan that works against them.

“Having the crowd on your side always makes it a lot more fun and it makes a lot more enjoyable for you.

“Not necessarily in this game but in some matches you do need them to get you going – we’re going to have some tough patches this week I’m sure, so hopefully they will be there to pick us up.

“They were great in what was maybe quite a tough game to get up for, so it’s still nice to play in front of them.

The Adcocks next face another Indonesian pair in the form of Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Greysia Polii in the last 16 on Thursday.

The Brits will once again be favourites heading into that contest but Chris is adamant there is no danger they will be underestimating their opponents.

“We know Polii very well and although she’s more known for her women’s doubles she is obviously a world-class player,” he added.

“We haven’t seen a lot of Kevin but I know he’s a young lad, so I expect him to be very quick and very fast.

“I know that in one of the tournaments they played, they took out the world No.1s, so we know the pedigree that they bring.

“We’ve got to make sure we impose ourselves on them and get comfortable like we did in the first round.”

Tickets for the YONEX All England 2015 at the stunning new Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham are available on the door or online at allenglandbadminton.com.

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