Patrombon enters Last 8 of Australian Open jrs

Jeson Patrombon defeated hometown favorite Andrew Whittington to reach the quarterfinals of the 2011 Australian Open Juniors Championship, 6-4, 3-6, 6-0, at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. "I played well, you know, just want to play my game and believe in myself to beat Whittington," said Patrombon, who reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event for the first time. "It was a good match for me. I think my game is at a good level, it's getting up." Patrombon, ranked 12th in the world, capitalized on Whittington's five double faults to win the first set at 6-4. The Australian fought back in the second to even things up, converting 75 percent of his break points. Patrombon, who had five double faults in the entire match against the 11 overall of Whittington, then dominated his rival in the third set, relying on his solid service to score a 6-0 wipeout in 21 minutes. "The Philippine flag is flying high here in Melbourne Park amongst the best tennis nations in the world and I'm very proud to tell them all that we are Filipinos," said Manny Tecson, Patrombon’s coach. "Jeson is blossoming as a player as he is getting stronger mentally and physically with each match," Tecson added. It was a sweet victory for the eighth-seeded Patrombon, as Whittington and his doubles partner Ben Wagland ended the Filipinos' doubles campaign with New Zealand's Jaden Grinter on Wednesday in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5. He now holds a 2-0 record against Whittington after a 6-2, 6-4 win over the Australian in the ITF/LTAT Juniors Championships in Thailand last year. Patrombon will now go up against fourth seed George Morgan of the United Kingdom on Thursday, aiming for a semifinal slot. The Filipino should have battled Morgan in the quarterfinals of the doubles tournament last December at the XXIV Yucatan World Cup, but Patrombon and Grinter had to withdraw due to injuries. On Thursday, Patrombon will have the advantage of facing an exhausted Morgan, who needed more than 2 1/2 hours to dispose of 14th seed Mate Delic of Croatia, 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 10-8. A semis win against Morgan will make Patrombon the second Filipino to reach the Final Four of a Grand Slam event next to tennis great Felix Barrientos, who reached the Wimbledon Juniors semifinals but suffered a 6-7, 6-0 loss to Eduardo Velez of Mexico. - With Renee Fopalan, JVP, KY, GMANews.TV