Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith made a positive start to the Indonesian leg of the BWF World Tour, reaching the second round of the Indonesia Masters in Jakarta.
The duo were comfortable in their first-round encounter before losing a hard-fought contest against South Korean pair Ko Sung Hyun and Eom Hye Won.
Men’s doubles pair Ben Lane and Sean Vendy pushed the world no.23s Leo Rolly Carnado and Daniel Marthin all the way but the home pairing prevailed in the first-round clash.
Ellis and Smith cruised through their first-round tie against Adham Hatem Elgamal and Doha Hany of Egypt, winning 10 straight points in the first game.
The pair eventually sealed the opener 21-7 and while Elgamal and Hany kept it closer in the second game, they couldn’t stop Ellis and Smith advancing, wrapping up the win 21-11.
The victory set up an enthralling encounter with Ko and Eom, who have triumphed both times in their previous two meetings.
And it was not to be third time lucky for Smith and Ellis as Eom and Ko took the first game 21-10 before a stirring fightback from the England pair in the second, winning 21-13 to force a decider.
Eom and Ko stretched out a five-point lead in the opening exchanges which Smith and Ellis were not able to claw back as they lost 21-11.
In the men’s doubles, Lane and Vendy got off to a lightning-fast start as they scored seven unanswered points on their way to winning the first game 21-10.
The pair moved 10-6 up in the second game before Carnando and Marthin fought back winning 21-13 much to the home fans’ delight.
Carnando and Marthin took an early hold of the decider, stretching their lead to 9-2 as Vendy and Lane fought valiantly.
The duo closed the gap to three points before their opponents pulled away clinching the match 21-12 in the third to advance to the second round.
Both pairings will go again in next week’s Super 1000 event the Indonesia Open.
