Birthday boy Patrombon loses Mitsubishi jr finals match to Aussie rival

Jeson Patrombon, the country’s top junior netter, was playing in the Mitsubishi Junior Tennis Championships finals on his birthday and was looking for a grand celebration. But a more determined rival from Australia named Andrew Whittington spoiled the party. The second seed Aussie outclassed Patrombon, 6-2, 6-3, on Sunday at the packed Rizal Memorial Tennis Center, frustrating the Pinoy netter in front of his countrymen. Displaying his solid serve and consistency on ground strokes, the 17-year-old Whittington who also has competed in the Futures tournament this year needed just an hour and 20 minutes to dismantle the world’s No. 9 junior netter Patrombon. “The crowd was cheering him and it was a tough match," admitted Whittington, who last week also won over Patrombon in the finals of the 17th Sarawak Chief Minister’s Cup in Kuching, Malaysia. “I kept my focus and decided to stick to my game plan of coming up with a big serve and good return because he is a good player. I’m very happy to win this tournament," added the 6-foot-2 native of Melbourne. Cheers greeted Patrombon name as he was introduced before the match. But Whittington, who evened up his head-to-head match-up with the Filipino ace at 2-2, quickly silenced the crowd by opening up a 3-0 lead and cruising all the way to an easy first-set victory. The crowd went wild anew as Patrombon broke Whittington in the first game of the second set and pounced on the Aussie’s third of his eight double faults in the match. Patrombon held serve to move up 2-0 and was still up 3-1 when things suddenly went sour for the Iligan City bet. His eagerness to forge a deciding third set resulted in a series of unforced errors and allowed his rival to get back into the contest. These miscues saw Whittington breaking Patrombon’s serve in the sixth and eight games as he went on to win the last five games for his second Grade 1 title. “This year has been a good year for me as I earned ATP points and won two ITF Grade 1 tournaments. I hope to continue with this performance before turning pro," added Whittington. Despite falling short of winning the crown, Patrombon was satisfied with his performance. It was the third straight time he reached a finals. . “Pasensya na po pero binigay ko ang best ko. Salamat sa suporta ninyo. Pero masaya ako dahil tatlong sunod na finals ang naabot ko," said Patrombon, who needed to endure back-to-back three -etters, the last a tough 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3) victory over seventh seed Pedja Krstin of Serbia in the semifinal round. “Prior to the game, he was given pain killers to ease the pain in both legs. But this is not an excuse because Whittington also played very well," said coach Manny Tecson. Patrombon will take a few days off before returning to practice. He will prepare for his first men’s Futures tournament next month either in India or Thailand. “We’re not going to concentrate only on the juniors from now on. Our plan is 60% juniors and 40% pros, but we will be competing in the Grandslam event like the Wimbledon, US Open and French Open," added Tecson. - KY, RCJ, GMA News