3 April, 2023
Ben Lane and Sean Vendy lead a strong English contingent at the Orleans Masters Badminton 2023 this week.
After a run to the last four at the YONEX Swiss Open and a second round defeat at the Madrid Spain Masters a week ago, Lane and Vendy are seeded fourth at the Super 300 event in Orleans.
They will face Su Ching Heng and Ye Hong Wei in the opening round, the Chinese Taipei pairing currently ranked 39th in the world.
The two pairings have only met once before, with Lane and Vendy prevailing in straight games at the HYLO Open in 2022.
Should the bracket hold, Lane and Vendy would face fifth seeds Pramudya Kusumawardana and Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob Rambitan in the last eight, before a potential semi-final against top seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.
Meanwhile, Chloe Birch and Lauren Smith will look to continue their encouraging recent form in the women’s doubles draw.
Having reached back-to-back quarter-finals at the Super 300 events in Basel and Madrid, Birch and Smith are seeded seventh in Orleans and take on Chen Fang Hui and Du Yue to begin with.
It will not be an easy opening round for the English pairing, with the Chinese duo fresh off a run to the final in Madrid this weekend – having been initially promoted into the main draw from qualifying.
Should they progress to the quarter-finals, Birch and Smith would be expected to face Danish second seeds Maiken Fruergaard and Sara Thygesen in the last eight.
Smith is once again in action on two fronts this week, playing alongside Marcus Ellis in mixed doubles action.
The duo lost in the opening round in Madrid last week but their three-game loss to Adnan Maulana and Nita Violina Marwah was their most encouraging display on the BWF World Tour this season.
Smith and Ellis are eighth seeds in Orleans and face a battle of Britain in their round one encounter, against Scotland’s Adam Hall and Julie MacPherson.
The two pairings have met twice previously and both times the English pairing have prevailed in straight games, at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and in the European Mixed Team Championships earlier this year.
Top seeds and home favourites Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue are likely last eight opponents for Smith and Ellis should they reach that stage.
