Lauren Smith admits it felt good to enjoy Dutch Open success again as she retained her title alongside Marcus Ellis.
Smith, from Longtown, and mixed-doubles partner Ellis justified their top seeding at the competition as they beat French duo Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue 21-15, 21-15 in the final on Sunday.
The 27-year-old Cumbrian says she enjoys playing in Almere.
"Going into the Dutch Open as top seeds, Marcus and I knew we were capable of retaining our title," she said.
"It is a hall that we enjoy playing in and the atmosphere is always great in Almere but there is always added pressure that comes with being the pair to beat.
"We started all of our matches well, which I think helped us assert ourselves and take some belief away from our opponents. We had a few dips in concentration but always managed to fight hard to stay in control."
Victory in The Netherlands last year was Ellis and Smith’s first title as a mixed-doubles pair.
And Smith added: "Winning the Dutch Open last year is what felt like the beginning of our mixed- doubles success, so it’s nice to enjoy that feeling again."
Meanwhile, in the women’s doubles, Smith and Chloe Birch lost 21-19, 17-21, 21-14 to eventual finalists Selena Piek and Cheryl Seinen.
"It was also a decent tournament in the women’s doubles," she said.
"We reached the quarter-final in 86 minutes and battled hard with a well-established pair. In previous rounds, we also beat some of our close competitors, so there is a lot of positives also to take from that."
But Carlisle-born Smith’s busy schedule shows no signs of letting up.
"Again, I’m off to another tournament [in Denmark]," she said. "This time it’s the top level so I have the world number one Japanese pairing in the women’s doubles and the world number two Chinese pair in mixed doubles, so there are very different challenges ahead.
"But I’m looking forward to giving it our all and learning [with] every game we play."
This year, Smith and Ellis have also won the Canada Open, as well as claiming European Championship bronze and Commonwealth Games silver.
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