Patrombon wins in singles, loses in doubles in Korea

Jeson Patrombon’s new-found confidence earned a semifinals berth for him in the boys’ singles, but he and his partner were eliminated in the doubles event of the Seogwipo Asia-Oceania Closed Championships in Jeju-do, South Korea. The 17-year-old junior netter, the second seed in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) B1 ranked event, pulled off a 6-4, 7-6 (3) win against local bet and 11th seed Kim Jae Hwan. He will face Ben Wagland in the semifinals after the Australian third seed outlasted No. 10 Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul of Thailand, 6-3, 7-6 (5). The winner of the Patrombon-Wagland match will face the victor of the other semis pairing between seventh seed Chung Hong of Korea and No. 4 Andrew Whittington of Australia in the finals. “Jeson’s confidence is growing in each match. He played with a lot of positive energy," said coach Manny Tecson. “The difference in Jeson’s game today is that he is now very positive even when he is down. He keeps fighting even if he misses an easy ball and he does not let it bother him," added Tecson. Patrombon hopes to keep his composure as he resumes his bid to win his second title this year. However, Patrombon’s campaign in the doubles event ended after he and partner Jarin Grinter of New Zealand suffered a 4-6, 4-6 quarterfinals loss against China’s Cao Zhaoyi and Liu Xing Bang in the quarterfinals. Patrombon and Garin seemed in great form after whipping Koreans Kim Ho Gak and Kim Yun, 6-3, 6-2, in the Round of 16, but the third-seeded pair could not keep up with their unranked foes. Cao and Liu will meet Wagland and Whittington in the semis after the Australian top-seeded pair scored a 6-7 (3) 6-4 [10-5] win over Japan’s No. 8 tandem of Kaichi Uchida and Kazuma Kawachi. Luck also did not side with Filipina top netter Anna Clarise Patrimonio as she and Chinese partner Ai Wen Zhu were eliminated by second seeds Miho Kowase and Riza Ozaki of Japan, 3-6, 0-6. – JVP/KY, GMANews.TV