Mixed results for Patrombon in Aussie Open juniors

Jeson Patrombon’s campaign in the 2011 Australian Open Juniors Championship had mixed results in Day 2 of the year’s first Grand Slam tournament. Patrombon, regaining his composure in the deciding third set, capitalized on Miki Jankovic’s miscues in pulling off a 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3 win in the boys’ singles to advance to the third round at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. Jankovic, the younger brother of former world number one Jelena Jancovic, may have learned from his previous encounter with Patrombon at the French Open last July, where the Filipino prevailed in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1. Patrombon went up to an early 3-0 lead, only to be caught by several backhands down the line from Jankovic. The first set proved to be a challenge for Patrombon, who needed a tie break to take the set in 54 minutes. In the second set, Jankovic capitalized on his first serve winners (87%), along with three aces to even up. The final set had the Serbian initiating the attack, going up two sets to none early. The Filipino fought back, only to be down a break at 3-2. At this point, Jankovic started to suffer cramps on his left leg. "The third set was where our extra physical training paid off. Jeson was totally unaware of what was happening to his opponent, so I signaled to him that Miki was cramping up on the left leg. This is difficult because when you are serving, you put your entire weight into the left leg when you spring up to the ball," said Patrombon’s coach, Manny Tecson. This led Patrombon to break Jankovic's serve at crucial moments of the game, leveling the set at 3-3, and eventually taking the final set in 41 minutes. Patrombon, who is ranked 12th in the world, has now surpassed his best showing in a Grand Slam singles event since reaching the Round of 32 at the French Open Juniors last year. He will next face No. 10 Andrew Whittington in the third round after the Australian netter scored a 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 victory against French qualifier Thomas Szewczyk. The winner will earn a quarterfinals spot, with Patrombon slightly favored to win against Whittington after beating the Aussie in the 2010 ITF/LTAT Junior Championships, 6-2, 6-4, in Nonthaburi, Thailand. But Patrombon's campaign in the boys’ doubles event ended as he and teammate Jaden Grinter of New Zealand suffered a 6-3, 7-5 loss to Australian pair Ben Wagland and Whittington in the second round. Patrombon and Grinter earlier scored a 6-3, 6-3 decision over Ryota Kishi of Japan and Nikola Milojevic of Serbia in the first round. –With a report from Renee Fopalan/JVP, KY, GMANews.TV