Dubai
The husband-wife pairing of Chris and Gabrielle Adcock want to put the icing on the cake by picking up a rare second crown at the $1 million (Dh3.67 million) Dubai World Super Series Final that starts at the Hamdan Sports Complex on Wednesday.
The Adcocks won gold in Dubai in 2015 with a 21-14, 21-17 win over Koreans Ko Sung-hyun and Kim Ha-na, but they had to surrender their crown to China’s Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen in last year’s final. A string of strong results during the year saw them climb to a career-best world number 4.
As the year rolled on, the Adcocks were crowned European Champions with a 21-17, 18-21, 21-19 win over Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen at the Sydbank Arena in Denmark, and then went down Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen to take bronze medal at the BWF World Championships in Glasgow.
“2017 has been mine and Chris’ best year-ever. And reaching that first top four in the world for the first time and then becoming European champions and then a bronze medal at the World Championships. The season has been phenomenal and a good finish in Dubai would just about top it off,” Gabrielle told media.
From experience, the Adcocks have a tendency to revel in Dubai. “We just want to come here and play as we know that when we do that we’ve got a good chance of performing and reaching the finals like in the previous years. The top eight pairs from the world are here so obviously it is going to be tough and we have to be on top of our game,” Gabrielle said.
“As long as Chris and I can play well we’ve got as good a chance as anyone out there. They have all qualified by right. So it is going to be exciting and I am sure there are going to be a few surprises along the way as well. You can always lose and yet go through. This is always an exciting event and I really look forward,” she added.
Now approaching the end of the season, the challenge, she insisted, lies in the mental frame-up. “It is more mental now as we approach the end of the season,” she admitted.
“It has been a busy year. But on coming here it is fresh as we both enjoy the weather and everything else in Dubai. Things are so fresh all over again and add to that some glitz and that makes things extra special here for us. If we all have that positivity and feel-good factor then it makes all the difference when you step out on court,” Gabrielle added.
