Jeson Patrombon battled back from a set down and retained his PPS-PEPP Brookside Hills Open Tennis Championship title after fellow Davis Cup veteran Johnny Arcilla retired three games into the deciding set Sunday at Brookside Hills Tennis Club in Cainta, Rizal.
Patrombon’s 4-6, 7-5, 3-0 (ret.) victory over Arcilla, who couldn’t continue because of dizziness, came after Marian Capadocia survived Clarice Patrimonio, 6-3, 7-6(5), to also retain the women’s crown.
Patrombon blew a 4-1 lead in the second set but recovered in time to fight back from 4-5 down and force a decider with a sweep of the last three games.
The victory, worth P50,000, came on the heels of Patrombon’s emphatic win in the Gov. Umali Cup in Oriental Mindoro last month, also against his long-time rival Arcilla.
Capadocia, who dropped just two games to reach the finals, sustained her form against Patrimonio, taking four of the first six games of the opening frame.
Patrimonio, however, refused to give up, banking on her baseline game to force another tie at 5 before the duo traded breaks to reach the tiebreaker where Capadocia proved steadier to repeat over Patrimonio, whom she also edged in last year’s finals.
The 24-year-old Capadocia who pocketed P25,000 in her singles romp.