PHL bet Patombon wins first two matches in Thailand

Tennis ace Jeson Patrombon won his first two matches in the singles and doubles events of the Chang LTAT-ITF Junior Championship in Nonthaburi, Thailand. The 17-year-old netter, who is currently ranked 10th in the world and is the meet's top seed, lived up to his lofty billing by beating Sweden's Morgan Johansson. He later teamed up with doubles partner Jaden Grinter of New Zealand in also advancing to the next round. Patrombon clawed back from a double breakpoint in the seventh game of the first set to score a 6-3, 6-0 win over the 85th-ranked Johansson. Tied at 3-3, with Patrombon down at 15-40 in the seventh game, the Iligan City native came back and won via tie break courtesy of back-to-back service aces. Patrombon just dominated Johansson from there. "Jeson has improved a lot with his mental game and I can see the big difference," said coach Manny Tecson. "Before, when he was up one set and at 3-0, he would relax, and he always had trouble closing his games. But today there were no signs of any let-up, and until the last point he was just being aggressive to win the match," added Tecson. Patrombon's win arranged a Round of 16 showdown with China's Xin Gao, who made heads turn when he pulled off a 6-1, 6-2 upset of 15th seed Paul Monteban of the Netherlands. Patrombon and Grinter also advanced in the doubles after posting a 6-4, 6-3, victory over Kim Jae-Hwan of Korea and Joey Swaysland of Australia in their Round of 16 match. Patrombon and Grinter, the fourth seeds in the tournament, aim for a semis seat against Gao and Wang Chieh Fu of Chinese Taipei, after the eighth-seeded pair defeated Paul Monteban of the Netherlands and Joshua Ward-Hibbert of Great Britain. – JVP, KY, GMA News