Slow-starting Patrombon dumps German rival in Mitsubishi jr netfest

It was an inspired Jeson Patrombon who showed up to whip German netter Patrick Elias, 6-3, 6-3, and boost his drive for a possible title in the 22nd Mitsubishi Lancer International Junior Tennis Championships Wednesday at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center. A respectable crowd came to support the 17-year-old Pinoy netter. Bothered by the slippery court, Patrombon began to display well-placed shots to atone for his slow start and overcome an early disadvantage against his German foe. "Masayang-masaya ako at inspired na maglaro dahil sa palakpakan at sigawan ng crowd. Madaling magpataas ng morale ang ganito, hindi tulad sa Thailand at Malaysia na si coach Manny (Tecson) lang halos ang pumapalakpak," said the current world No. 9 junior player. Elias, ranked 103rd in the world, surged ahead at 2-1 before Patrombon started putting power in his returns to win the next three games and eventually cruise to a a 6-3 first-set win. The top-seeded netter from Iligan City failed to hold serve in the first game of the second set for a 0-2 deficit, but he quickly recovered his bearing, thanks largely to the crowd, who continued to egg on the country’s No. 1 junior netter. That enabled Patrombon to win six of the next seven games to end the match that lasted an hour and a half. Up next for the Filipino netter is is 14th seed Luis Patino of Mexico in their round-of-16 match. Patrombon who will celebrate his 18th birthday this March 27, is bidding to become the first Filipino netter to win a title in the boy's division. "Huling taon ko na ito sa juniors at gagawin ko ang lahat ng makakaya ko and hopefully ay manalo ako," added Patrombon. Tecson was satisfied with Patrombon’s performance. He expects his player to perform better in his next games. "This circuit is one of the toughest in the world, and Patrombon is showing maturity in handling not only the top opponents, but also the pressure," said Tecson. Patrombon will make his debut in the boy’s doubles Thursday as he teams up with New Zealander Jaden Grinter. They will face the winner between the Pinoy tandem of Calvin Charles Canlas-Juan Opulencia against Canadians Samuel Mnette and Filip Peliwo in the round of 16. Three Australian players led by Kuching Malaysia ITF champion Andrew Whittington also advanced into the next round. The second seed Whittington needed three sets before surviving Zhaoyi Cao, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. His compatriots — third seed Ben Wagland and fourth seed Luke Saville, won in straight sets over Jonas Merckx of Belguim (6-3, 6-2) and Emmett Egger of USA (6-4, 6-2), respectively. Two more Aussie netters rocked the tournament with upset victories, with Joey Swaysland pulling off a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, victory over fifth seed Jannick Lupescu of Netherlands and Nick Kyrgios eliminating 10th seed Stefan Lindmark of Sweden, 6-3, 6-3. Canadian qualifier Edward Nguyen also made heads turn with a 6-3, 6-4, drubbing of 11th seed Teodor Nicolae Marin of Romania. - KY, RCJ, GMA News