Patrombon, Reyes gain in Thai tennis

MANILA, Philippines - Jeson Patrombon, gearing up for this month’s Southeast Asian Games, and Fil-Italian Marc Reyes posted contrasting victories to advance to the main draw of the Thailand F4 Futures tournament in Phuket, Thailand last Sunday.

Patrombon survived Hong Kong’s Lam Wing-Lun in a qualifying match that lasted close to three hours, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6, while Reyes was at his best in dismantling Brunei’s Mohd. Aiman Abdullah, 6-1, 6-2.

The 18-year-old Patrombon, according to coach Manny Tecson, struggled to find his rhythm and nearly got the door when Lam seized a 5-3 lead in the deciding third set.

But Patrombon never gave up and fought back to repulse Lam and snatch the win.

“It was a good test for Jeson to survive and win this match against Lam,” said Tecson.

Patrombon had little time to rest and adjust to the Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club’s hard court after failing to book an earlier flight out of Laos. He competed in the Laos F1 netfest and secured a semifinal stint in doubles with SEAG-bound Dennis Lajola.

“We had to sleep at the airport of Thailand for our next connecting flight to Phuket because all flights are fully booked. The airport is filled to the roof with people trying to escape Bangkok from the flood that has been raging havoc to the city for several days now,” Tecson said.

Reyes, who got to Thailand from Laos earlier than Patrombon, played consistently well and aggressively en route to the one-sided win over Abdullah.

Patrombon will have his hands full in the first round against Korean Jun Woong-Sun, a former top 200-plus ATP player and No. 4 in juniors a few years back. Reyes meets Thai qualifier Pruchya Isarow.