Patrombon No. 48 in world junior rankings

MANILA, Philippines - Jeson Patrombon, the country’s newest junior tennis sensation, overtook former RP No. 1 Casey Alcantara as he barged into the Top 50 in the latest International Tennis Federation world rankings.

The fast-rising Patrombon, a 17-year-old pride of Iligan City, jumped from No. 76 last week to No. 48 this week after finishing second in the Dunlop Open, a Grade 1 tournament, in Nagoya, Japan.

It was an impressive surge by Patrombon, who languished at No. 242 just last November.

Alcantara, in his last year of eligibility as a junior player, remained at No. 49 after moving up to No. 17 following his victory with Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Cheng Peng in the Australian Juniors Open last year.

Patrombon also dished out a pair of semifinal finishes in Grade 1 tournaments in Malaysia and Thailand before the Dunlop Open and reached the quarterfinals in two other tournaments.

He hopes to further improve his ranking, possibly make it to the Top 20, as he is set to compete in the French Juniors Open in May and Wimbledon Juniors in June.

Before the majors, Patrombon is scheduled to participate in the Grade 1 Torneo Internazionale Citta Di Santa Croce on May 17 and the Grade A Trofeo Bonfiglio on May 24 both in Italy and another Grade 1 event in Belgium the following week.

He will then fly to Roland Garros on May 30 for the French Open and see action in a Grade 1 tilt in Offenbach, Germany on June 8, and another Grade 2 meet also in Germany on June 15 and a Grade 1 event in Roehampton, Great Britain on June 20. He winds up his tough European campaign in Wimbledon in late June.    – Joey Villar