Fontaine Chapman progresses to All England Championship singles draw
Last Updated: 03/03/15 11:55pm
Fontaine Chapman admitted to an "incredible" experience playing in front of home support as she progressed to the women's singles main draw at the YONEX All England Championships on Tuesday.
Chapman advanced to a meeting with Korea's fourth-seeded Sung Ji Hyun when the first round begins on Wednesday after coming through two qualifying matches at the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham.
She first beat Malaysian Peiy Yee, before her berth was sealed after a 22-20 21-15 win over Rong Schafer, of the USA.
"I knew it would be tough," said the England number one. "I had to be physical and work hard for these wins.
"Just playing qualifying was great, but my real aim was to get into the main draw."
Chapman will also have full family support behind her, given she grew up in Coventry. "I now really want to enjoy the experience and you never know what will happen," she added.
Andrew Ellis and Peter Mills advanced to the main draw, with a tight 18-21 21-11 21-14 victory over Lin Chia Yu and Hsiao-Lin Wu, of Chinese Taipei.
The British pair next face a formidable duo, Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan, Indonesia's fourth seeds and defending champions.
Christopher Coles and Sophie Brown secured a mixed doubles' berth after their Russian-Indian opponents were forced to retire. They join Chris and Gabby Adcock, who begin their campaign on Wednesday against Indonesia's Markis Kido and Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth.
Christopher Coles and Paul Van Rietvelde were beaten by Korea's Lin Chia Yu and Hsiao-Lin Wu 21-15 21-13.
Harley Towler and Emily Westwood endured a tough end to qualifying, having to play consecutive matches, with barely an hour's rest in between.
After coming through in three against Japanese opposition, Sol Kyu Choi and Yoo Jung Chae, Korea's second seeds in qualifying, proved too good in winning 21-17 21-18.
In the final match of the night, Heather Olver and Lauren Smith exited women's doubles qualifying after losing out in three games to Suci Rizky Andini and Maretha Dea Giovani, of Indonesia.
