Patrombon breaches junior world rankings Top 10

MANILA, Philippines -  After a career-best quarterfinal appearance in the last Australian Open juniors, Filipino ace Jeson Patrombon marked another milestone as he finally broke into the Top 10 of the world rankings.

The 17-year-old Patrombon vaulted to No. 9 in the latest rankings released by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) with 580 points, his three-notch improvement from No. 12 boosted by his Last-8 stint in boys’ singles (worth 80 points) and Round of 16 showing in boys’ doubles (30 points).

“I’m very happy that I reached the top 10 and was able to bring honor to our country. All the hard work and pain we have to go through for our flag and country is paying off,” said Patrombon, who bucked a blistered hand in pulling off that defining performance in Melbourne.

The pride of Iligan City promised to work even harder to sustain his steady rise in the world ranking. From 320th in the January 2009 list, Patrombon worked his way up to 30th by December 2010 and to 12th at the start of 2011.

His current No. 9 ranking is the highest for a Pinoy junior netter since Felix Barrientos rated as far as fourth in the 1980s when he reached the semis of the Wimbledon juniors boys’ singles. It also surpassed the No. 14 standing of Francis Casey Alcantara after his 2009 Australian Open juniors boys’ doubles triumph.

Ahead of Patrombon in the world rankings are No. 1 and reigning Aussie Open boys singles titlist Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic (1420 points), Dominic Thiem of Austria (826.25), Hugo Dellien of Bolivia (792.5), Oliver Golding of Britain (783.75), Mate Pavic of Croatia (777.5), George Morgan of Britain (748.75), Joris De Loore of Belgium (733.75), and Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain (663.75).

Likewise, the young lad under the tutelage of coach Manny Tecson is at the top of the list among Asians, with Japanese Daniel Taro (385) the next best at No. 35 in the world.