The last New Zealand pair have been beaten at the Australian Badminton Open in Sydney.
Kevin Dennerly-Minturn from Auckland and Waitakere's Kritteka Gregory made the second round of the mixed doubles at US$120,000 BWF Grand Prix Gold event after an easy first round win but then took on tournament topseeds and current world No 9 pair Markis Kido and Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth from Indonesia last night.
The end result was a 21-10 21-11 loss in 20 minutes for the Kiwis, however the experience will hold them in good stead for next week's US$50,000 New Zealand Open at the North Shore Events Centre.
The quality of the mixed draw is very high with seven of the eight pairs in the quarter-finals of the Australian event set to play in Auckland.
The men's quarter-finals of the doubles draw in Sydney is also dominated by combinations who will take to the court in Auckland.
Meanwhile, Auckland women's singles top seed and Australian Open third seed Hsiao Ma Pai (Chinese Taipei) is through to the quarter-finals of the singles.
