PATROMBON

Jeson Patrombon suffered a first-round exit in the ongoing Youth Olympic Games in Singapore but his coach, former Philippine Davis Cup team captain Manny Tecson, remains optimistic he can do well in the US Open Junior Championships slated on September 5 to 12 in New York.

Since he can’t go home ahead of the RP delegation, the 17-year-old Patrombon has been practicing non-stop inside the Youth Olympic Village in preparation for the US Open.

Patrombon, according to Tecson, learned a lot from the Games since most of the world’s finest young guns who will play in the US Open also joined the Singapore event.

Tecson said his ward is practicing with his doubles partner Yuki Bhambri of India, as well as Yasutaka Uchiyama of Japan. Bhambri was a former junior world No.1 and now an active competitor at the pros, while Uchiyama is currently the 19th best junior netter in the world.

“We always have to think we have a big chance, but the most important thing is our performance during the tournament,” Tecson, who has been coaching Patrombon for the past three years, said in an email message.

“It is no longer a question of skills or talent but experience and maturity in constructing the points especially during important ones that sometimes decides matches. And we never stop working on that,” he added.

Patrombon bowed to China’s No. 1 junior player Bowen Ouyang, 6-7 (9), 6-3, 6-4, in the opening round. He and Bhambri were also eliminated in their first-round doubles match to Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovenia and Mate Pavic of Croatia, 6-7 (3), 7-5, 10-4.