Patrombon hurdles first Wimbledon match

Photo by Mark Giongco

MANILA, Philippines—Jeson Patrombon overcame a first-set loss to turn back a tall German foe, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, and advance to the second round of the Wimbledon boys’ singles late Saturday.

Charging the net and keeping his errors to the minimum, the 18-year-old Patrombon worked for two hours before ousting the 6-foot-3 Julian Lenz.

Patrombon, the world’s No. 11 in juniors and No. 1252 in men’s, will take on either Toby Martin of Great Britain or Kimmer Coppejans of Belgium next.

It was the first win in the tournament for Patrombon, who failed to survive the first round in 2010. He also reached the quarterfinals of the boys’ singles of the Australian Open early in 2011.

The Wimbledon website match summary showed the German posting a first-serve percentage of 60 against the Filipino’s 56 percent but Patrombon nailed more second serves (59 percent) as against Lenz’s (39 percent).

Coach Manny Tecson said Patrombon trailed 2-4 in the second set before he rallied to take the next four games, breaking his rival in the seventh and ninth games.

However, Tecson said Patrombon hurt his right foot while going for a running forehand winner at match point. He said trainers have been taking care of the swelling to ensure that he would be fit to play Monday.