Commonwealth champions going for gold in Glasgow

Commonwealth Games gold medallist Marcus Ellis thinks he has every chance of clinching his first Scottish Open win alongside partner Chris Langridge.

The pair are gearing up for the tournament at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, where they face Scottish teenagers Ciar Pringle and Jack MacGregor in the first round.

They are looking to become to first British duo to take home the men’s doubles title since Ellis was victorious alongside Peter Mills in 2010.

Ellis believes they should make the final stages of the tournament and hopes to take home the trophy, the pair having never won the tournament in their three attempts.

The 29-year-old said: “It’s that sort of tournament where the seeding suggests that we should be there or thereabouts at the end of the tournament.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean so but we both know that if we do play well, we should be in with a good shout of taking the title.

“At the Scottish Open, you often get very similar crowds and countries in, so we know exactly who our competition are. We play against them several times a year.

“We see playing in Scotland as playing on home soil, and that’s an advantage for us.

“2010 is a long time ago in a Badminton career, so we’d love to break that streak and put another British name on the podium.”

Ellis and Langridge in good form

Ellis said he and Langridge know they are tough opponents for any of the world’s top players if they are at their best.

They come into the Scottish Open as top seeds after playing in competitions across Europe through October, registering a win at the Saarlorlux Open and reaching the semi-finals of the Danish Open.

Ellis feels the pair, who won Olympic bronze in Rio two years ago, are putting in good performances and are heading to Glasgow with confidence.

“We’ve had some amazing results – like at the Commonwealth Games – but we’ve had some challenges as well,” he said.

“We’re one of those pairs who know that when we play our best, we’re very difficult to beat, so that’s the approach we’re going for in tournaments at the moment.”

He added: “What is very encouraging is that we put in some good performances.

“On the other side of the coin, we didn’t really get time to train, but that’s ok because I think sometimes when you play a few tournaments in a row, you get on a roll and get more confident.

“In the end, we did put in some good performances, so I think we’re happy to take that forward to Glasgow and play with some confidence.”

Ellis, who won the mixed doubles title with Gabby Adcock at the Scottish Open in 2012, said the tournament had always drawn strong players from across the globe, which is one of the reasons he enjoys playing in it.

He added: “I think it was two or three years ago it got upgraded in the level of tournaments, and that’s a true testament to how good it is and how well it’s been run.

“Since then, it feels like it’s gone from strength to strength.

“For us, it’s just down the road, so no matter what standard – you’ll get our top players, some of our junior players travelling up; it’s a great opportunity to perform at a really good tournament.”

Title challengers

If it goes to seeding, then Ellis and Langridge look set to battle for the title with second seeds and last year’s champions Jelle Maas and Robin Tabeling.

The two pairs faced off in the semi-final of the Saarlorlux Open earlier this month, with the English team winning 21-17, 21-19.

If the Dutch duo are going to make the latter stages of the competition, they are set to have to beat exciting French youngsters Christo and Toma Junior Popov.

German third seeds Mark Lamsfuss and Marvin Emil Seidel will take on English pair Sam Parsons and Michael Roe in the opening round.

Sixth seeds Jacco Arends and Ruben Jille will be looking to turn around a poor run of form in Glasgow.

The Dutch pair come into the tournament on a poor run of form, following first-round eliminations in their last three tournaments.

There is plenty of Scottish interest outside Pringle and MacGregor facing off against the top seeds in the opening round.

Christopher and Matthew Grimley face former champion Richard Eidestedt and his partner Peter Kaesbauer. Eidestedt won the title in 2008 while playing for England but now represents Sweden.

Commonwealth Games participants Alex Dunn and Adam Hall will play Russia’s Konstantin Abramov and Alexandr Zinchenko in the first round.

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