Patrombon dominates US rival

MANILA, Philippines –  Top seed Jeson Patrombon shook off a first-set scare then dominated American Emmet Egger in the second frame to fashion out a 7-6(5), 6-2 victory in the second round of the 17th Sarawak Chief Minister’s Cup Tennis Championship in Kuching, Malaysia.

The 17-year-old Patrombon, who slid to No. 10 in the world juniors ranking, groped for form as he came out of a first round bye, needing to pull through in a tiebreak before stamping his class in the second to complete the sweep.

He faces Nick Kyrgios in the third round after the Australian upended No. 14 Vasile Alexandro Ghilea of Romania, 6-0, 6-2.

Patrombon hopes to match if not surpass this runner-up finish in last week’s Grade 1 tournament in Thailand where he gained 100 ITF ranking points.

A championship is worth 150 points.

The Iligan City native is trying to make it to the top five in the world juniors in his last season.

Patrombon, who has plans of competing in the pro Tour probably next month, made it to the world’s top 10 group following a strong quarterfinal finish in last January’s Australian Juniors Open, the best placing by a Filipino since Felix Barrientos made it to the semis in a Grand Slam event in the 80s.