Cumbrian star Lauren Smith got off to an impressive start along with doubles partner Marcus Ellis in in the first round of the YONEX All England Open.

The sixth seeds came through a battling 21-17, 21-19 victory over Indonesia's Rinov Rivaldy and Pitha Haningtyas Mentari at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham.

It saw the duo safely into the second round of the mixed doubles.

They today face Japanese pair Yuki Kaneko and Misaki Matsutomo for a place in the quarter-finals.

Speaking on Badminton England about the opening-round win, Longtown's Smith said: “I think in the second set especially they really pushed back and changed the game up a little bit. It was important for us to remember we were still ahead and we had that control.

“We just needed to get the game plan right, get the tactics right to how we were doing them and believe they were going to work. We had to scrap a few points here and there but we pride ourselves on that.”

The All England Open is the latest international outing for double Olympian Smith.

The 30-year-old, ahead of today's second-round encounter, added: “We need to make sure we have a good sleep, but have a bit of a watch of the video, get the tactics nailed down, and think about what we need to do to make sure we’re feeling really confident.

"We have to be quite flexible, but we’re used to that preparation."