Iggy eyes Wimbledon, US Open main draws

MANILA, Philippines — Fresh from topping an international juniors Grade 3 level tournament in Kuala Lumpur, teenaged Iggy Pantino hopes to improve on his world No. 82 ranking with a strong showing at a Grade 2 competition in Beijing on May 7-11 and if he impresses, it could lead to a ticket to the main draw at Wimbledon and the US Open this year.

Pantino, born in Ormoc and raised in Cebu, is a Philippine Tennis Academy (PTA) protégé of Rommie Chan. At 15, he was 5-8. Now, at 18, he’s 5-11. Pantino is in Grade 10 of home studies and in two years, Chan plans to bring him to a US school on a tennis scholarship.

Another Chan protégé Bryan Otico, 19, is now reviewing for the SAT test preparatory to enrolling in a US school on a tennis scholarship this August. Otico has at least 10 offers to play for a US varsity and is leaning toward joining the Loyola Marymount University program. He saw action for the Philippines in the Asia/Oceania Group 2 Davis Cup duel with Thailand last April 5-6. Otico beat Kasidit Samrej, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (retired) to notch the Philippines’ only win in a 3-1 loss.

“Right now, our focus is getting Iggy to the main draw at Wimbledon and the US Open,” said coach Jun Toledo. “If he makes the finals of the singles and doubles in Beijing, he might enter the world’s top 50 which qualifies him to the main draw outright. Otherwise, he’ll go through the qualifying round. Beijing is a higher level tournament than K. L. and will be tougher. It’s a challenge for Iggy but from what he showed in K. L., I think he’s ready to go for it.”

It was a 64-man draw in the U18 tournament in Kuala Lumpur with Pantino sweeping his six assignments to capture the singles crown. He defeated Indonesia’s Jerall Yasin, 6-4, 6-4, Japan’s Yasuke Tamaki, 6-4, 6-1, Thailand’s Guntinun Sootinun Opart, 6-4, 6-3, China’s Bohua Dong, 1-6, 6-1, 7-5, India’s Dev Javia, 6-4, 6-3 and Samrej, 6-4, 6-2, to bag the title. The win over Dong was his most severe test.

“Dong’s only 16, well-traveled, heavily-supported and one of China’s rising stars,” said Toledo. “He’s tall, he hits hard and plays a fast pace. In the first set, Iggy tried to match his style and couldn’t sustain. He lost badly, 6-1. But in the second set, Iggy changed the pace, slowed it down and made Dong move. It worked and Iggy won, 6-1. In the third set, Iggy was up, 4-2 then Dong held serve for 4-3 and tied it on a break, 4-4. The strings in two of Iggy’s rackets snapped when he got broken. The string in one racket snapped in the first set so Iggy was down to just one good racket. I left the stadium to go to a pro shop, about a five-minute walk away, so I could get one of his rackets re-strung as a backup.”

Toledo said Dong went up, 5-4, on his serve then Pantino held to tie it, 5-5. At 30-all on Dong’s serve in the next game, the Chinese hit a forehand long on an unforced error and Pantino clinched it on a backhand winner. Pantino served two aces to finish off Dong, 7-5, for the match.

“It started at 9:30 a.m. and ended about 1 p.m.,” said Toledo. “We put ice behind Iggy’s neck to fight the heat. K. L. was extremely hot that day. It was the first time they played each other and Iggy showed a lot of poise to win.”

In the final, Pantino went up against Samrej, an 18-year-old Davis Cupper. “Iggy beat Samrej twice when they were playing in U14 tournaments so I thought Samrej was a little bit intimidated,” said Toledo. “But since their U14 days, Samrej has developed into a strong player and now is in the Thai Davis Cup team.”

Aside from Otico and Pantino, the PTA has nurtured several other tennis players, including Nino Alcantara, Khim Iglupas, Mariam Capadocia, A. J. Lim and Jurence Mendoza. “We have achieved our goals as PTA to provide core members of national junior teams and inspire many kids with similar backgrounds to scale new heights,” said Chan. “Players have far exceeded our objectives. Some have become members of men’s and ladies’ teams while in their teens. Something to be truly happy and proud of. By setting aside all other agenda, we can achieve much more for Philippine tennis.”