Patrimonio daughter enters main draw of top-tier tennis tiff

MANILA, Philippines - Her dad was once the face of Philippine basketball. On Monday, Anna Christine Patrimonio made a small step in the hopes of leaving her own mark in another sport - tennis. Patrimonio advanced to the main draw of the PLDT-Smart International Tennis Federation Circuit Two after the 17-year-old defeated Zhao Di of China 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 in the qualifiers on Monday at the Rizal Tennis Court. It will be Patrimonio's first time to advance in an event sanctioned by the sport's world amateur-governing body. Zhao raced to a 4-0 score en route to a first-set win. But Patrimonio stormed to a 5-2 lead in the second set after she broke serve in the fifth and seventh games to tie the match. Patrimonio completed her comeback by holding serve to start the third set and dominating Zhao the rest of the way. "I was not aggressive at the start. I was a bit sluggish but when I got my groove, that's when I started playing well," Patrimonio, who trained for three years in Spain prior to the tournament, said. "I think I was able to adjust to the surface and the weather conditions after not being able to play at Rizal for a long time." Patrimonio's father, four-time PBA Most Valuable Player Alvin Patrimonio, was pumped up after his daughter's victory. "I'm very happy because this is the first time she's made it to the main draw of an ITF tournament," the elder Patrimonio, who was watching at the sidelines, said. "I'm just proud of her because she was even down in the first set but she was still able to come back and win." Other RP ladies in the main draw are Czarina Mae Arevalo, Michelle Pang, Bambi Zoleta, and Jessica Agra. Agra, Pang, Patrimonio and Zoleta look for a better finish this week after a losing early in Circuit One recently. - GMANews.TV