MANILA, Philippines—Jeson Patrombon is hoping to crash the men’s tennis top 500 in 2012.
Currently 940th in the world after debuting in the pro circuit this year, the 18-year-old Patrombon will start the year with three Futures tournaments in Eilat, Israel, where the Filipino tennis hotshot is assured of a main draw according to his coach Manny Tecson.
Filipino-Italian Marc Reyes is joining Patrombon in Israel but the 22-year-old has to survive the qualifying round.
“Our goal this year is to break the top 500 in the world rankings and hopefully go further in the men’s draw, maybe also win our first pro tournament,” said Tecson.
“These tournaments in Eilat will also serve as part of our preparation for the upcoming Davis Cup tie in February in Iriga against Pacific Oceania,” added Tecson.
Patrombon is expected to figure prominently in the PH Davis Cup campaign along with Treat Huey with Cecil Mamiit reportedly agreeing to be the nonplaying captain now.
Patrombon created a splash during his maiden stint in the Davis Cup last September in Lapu Lapu City when he stunned Chinese Taipei’s top 100 player Jimmy Wang in a thrilling three-setter.
He also saw action in several Futures around the world, playing a grand total of 128 qualifying matches and reaching as far as the quarterfinals in Thailand.
“It is very important for Jeson and Marc’s continued development as a pro to compete against different types and styles of players in different continents of the world if we really want to excel in the Tour,” added Tecson.
A former PH Davis Cup team skipper, Tecson said some of the Europeans competing in Israel are former junior players like Patrombon, among them Dominic Thiem of Austria who was a finalist in the French Open Juniors this year and a loser to Jeson in Thailand two years ago.
Patrombon is also hoping to compete in the four grand slam events.
“Our dream of someday competing in the men’s grand slam singles is not out of reach,” said Tecson. “We have done it before in the juniors and I believe we have the talent and determination to make this dream a reality.”
Patrombon ended his junior year in 2011 by seeing action in all four majors, making it to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
He also reached as high as ninth in the world junior rankings this year.