25 March, 2023
Ben Lane and Sean Vendy reached the last four of the YONEX Swiss Open during a strong week in Basel.
In their opening round match, Lane and Vendy – who were looking for a first BWF Tour win of 2023 – were drawn in an intriguing all-European battle against France’s Christo and Toma Junior Popov.
The English pair came through a competitive opening game and were in cruise control after that, sealing a 21-17 21-7 victory to reach the second round.
Up next were He Ji Ting and Zhou Hao Dong, the Chinese pair fresh from beating eighth seeds Mark Lamsfuss and Marvin Seidel in their opener.
This contest proved to be a real battle but it ultimately went the way of Lane and Vendy, who fought their way to a 21-19 15-21 21-17 victory.
The Tokyo Olympians were then up against another unseeded pair in the form of Ayato Endo and Yuta Takei in the last eight stage and came from behind to seal a 21-23 21-18 21-17 victory.
Ren Xiang Yu and Tan Qiang were Lane and Vendy’s semi-final opponents on Saturday, with the Chinese pair also unseeded at the Super 300 competition.
And ultimately it was the Chinese pair who progressed to the final with a 21-10 21-17 triumph, though Lane and Vendy will certainly take confidence from their run amid a busy spell of European action.
Chloe Birch and Lauren Smith reached the last eight, starting their campaign against another unseeded pair in the form of Linda Elfer and Isabel Lohau.
Despite dropping the opening game, Birch and Smith were able to fight back and prevail 17-21 21-8 21-18 to reach the second round in a battling display.
There they were up against Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai, the Thai pair fourth seeds at the tournament.
And Birch and Smith progressed to the quarter-final after the fourth seeds were unfortunately forced to retire at 18-14 down in the opening game.
Sixth seeds Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota – three-time World Championship silver medallists – were next up in the last eight.
And the Japanese duo showed their class and experience in a 21-12 21-8 victory, though there were plenty of encouraging signs for Birch and Smith across their matches.
Smith was also in mixed doubles action alongside Marcus Ellis, the pair tasting a 21-12 21-10 defeat to Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Boje of Denmark.
All three pairings will be back in action next week at the Madrid Masters.
