Husband and wife combo pack off top seeds Tontowi and Liliyana

ENGLISH pair Chris AdcockGabrielle Adcock are feeling fresh and confident and it is showing on the court as they powered their way to the mixed doubles semi-finals.

And they did it in the finest fashion as they sent top seeds Tontowi Ahmad-Liliyana Natsir of Indonesia packing in three games 21-14, 23-21, 21-13 in the Celcom Axiata Malaysian Open.

The world No. 9 pair came out hitting hard and fast yesterday to record their sixth win over the Indonesians in 16 meetings.

“They have been a really good pair for a very long time. We’ve done well against them in the past, so we knew if we played well we would have a chance,” said the 29-year-old Chris.

“We knew that if we gave them the confidence they can really create trouble for us and that’s how they squeezed one game from us. Fortunately, we went back to playing calmly and better in the third game.”

The couple, who married in 2013, had been missing from the badminton scene for the first three months of the year after Gabrielle sustained an ankle injury in January.

The English pair returned in March for the All-England Open where they made it into the last eight.

They proved they were back in the groove in April by winning the Commonwealth Games and the European Championships mixed doubles titles.

They said the two wins have whetted their appetite.

“We are feeling confident, feeling good and fresh,” said the 27-yearold Gabrielle.

“We have not played many tournaments with my injury, so now we are ready and raring to go.”

The two is expecting another tough battle in the semi-finals as they will face China’s Zheng SiweiHuang Yaqiong who beat compatriot He Jiting-Du Yue 21-8, 21-10.