The Patrimonio sisters hoping to be the first ever Pinays in legitimate major world tennis championships.
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
IN A day and age when many teenage girls like to go out with friends and have a good time, the daughters of basketball superstar Alvin Patrimonio spend almost eight hours a day in a first-class tennis training program at TennisVAL in Silla, Spain, a 30-minute drive from the heart of Valencia, which is known for its warm, dry summers and mild winters.
Fifteen-year-old Christine, who is now a lovely 5’7” lass and 13-year-old Clarice, who is a charming 5’4” young lady, actually got interested in tennis while playing video games at home, sometime in 2001.
“The two girls and their 17-year-old brother Angelo James were, all of a sudden, struck by the prize money the big-name stars win in tennis,” Alvin revealed.
This was reinforced when they started watching grand slam events on television and Christine and Clarice noticed the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, and later the Russian Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova.
“Watching these superstars started it,” said Alvin.
His wife Cindy added: “We never thought we would sacrifice this much for it.”
Alvin gave the girls a tennis court a couple of years ago. It was a court similar to the surface of the courts at the US Open. Apart from playing at home, the girls practiced at the Rizal Racquet Club in Pasig, the Manila Polo Club and the Rizal Memorial tennis courts. Their first coaches included former Davis Cup star Johnny Jose, Dennis Sta. Cruz, Momong Dakudao and Domeng Feliciano.
Although Christine started playing when she was 10 years old and Clarice when she was 8, the sisters did pretty well with Christine becoming the no. 1 seed in the girls’ under-14 and Clarice in the top five in the under-12 age-group.
Many of the decisions made in the Patrimonio household, which indeed was a commendable facet of their family life, was that Alvin and wife Cindy would usually make collective decisions and it was this way when they opted to get into tennis.
In the beginning, Cindy joined the kids and learned the finer points of the game in a summer camp at Valle Verde. It was a major plus that they were sports-minded. They simply had to be considering what an illustrious basketball career their father Alvin had.
Nicknamed “The Captain” because of his exemplary leadership qualities, Alvin entered the Philippine Basketball Association in the middle of the 1988 season alongside that year’s Rookie of the Year Jojo Lastimosa, many-time Mythical Team and Best Defensive Team member Jerry Codiñera and perennial Best Defensive Team member Glenn Capacio.
Alvin won four coveted Most Valuable Player awards in the PBA and also had the distinction of playing in four Asian Games, a record he shares with Allan Caidic. An indication of his dedication and perseverance was the fact that Alvin holds the record for the most consecutive games played (596). It is no wonder then that these admirable traits were imbibed by his two daughters.
Alvin recalled that his eldest daughter Christine, who was then about 5”6”, was the tallest girl, who played basketball in school and was a pretty good player, who could shoot, too.
But when they decided to get into tennis and build a career in the game, almost everything else was set aside. After joining some age-group tournaments in the United States, the two girls believed in themselves and set their minds to making whatever sacrifices were needed to hone their skills and be competitive at the highest level.
Obviously, this won’t come easy. But Alvin is proud of the fact that his two girls have made tremendous sacrifices so far and the substantial money he has to spend is all worthwhile. Of course, the other fact is that Cindy, too, who lives with the two girls in Spain, has had to make her fair share of sacrifices.
Cindy said they decided to go to Spain when a friend of the family, Ricky Awad of the Manila Polo Club, recommended that Christine and Clarice train at TennisVAL, which has some fine coaches, including Pancho Alvarino, the head coach for women. Also coaching at TennisVAL was Jose Altur, who works with different levels of players from very promising juniors up to the top pros, including the likes of Marat Safin, David Ferrer, Dinara Safina, Anabelle Medina and others, who trained in Spain since they were kids.
Cindy said they picked Spain since most of the good players came from there and also because most of the WTA tournaments were a mere two hours away by plane.
“Besides, the price of training is very reasonable and the quality of training is great,” said Cindy, who also appreciates the fact that the competition level in the various tournaments is very high and this would give the two Patrimonio girls “better experience.”
Despite the grueling training regimen, Christine and Clarice don’t neglect their studies. Right now, they are home schooling and like a good father, Alvin makes sure their lessons are sent to them in Spain. The two girls have decided to carve out a career as professional tennis players, but also have other goals. Christine wants to be a veterinarian and, according to Cindy, “wants to own a tiger someday and possibly put up a zoo in Manila.” As for Clarice, aside from tennis, she wants to sing and according to her mother, “she’s got the voice, too.”
While Alvarino is the head coach for women, the girls get shuffled around, depending on what facet of their game they need to work on. When Cindy spoke to Alvarino about Christine and Clarice, he said they were “very good girls who work so hard every day.” In fact, because of her incredible commitment to hard work in training, the coaches give Christine days off. The roster of coaches admire the seriousness of the Patrimonio sisters and how much they are striving to achieve their goals.
Christine—pretty as a picture and persevering—is apparently ready for the WTA and will have at least seven tournaments until June. Alvarino also plans to put Christine in women’s national tournaments and in competition for girls under-21, although she is just 15. Christine is now ranked just below the top 200 in Spain and because of her ranking, gets into the main draw in national tournaments.
Clarice plays in the juniors’ under-18 and under-21 for girls and recently, joined her first women’s nationals. And although she lost, those who watched her in action said Clarice played like a pro and should be playing that way always.
Cindy has no illusions at present. She concedes that “they will be losing a lot this year, but will gain a lot of experience, which will prepare them for the years to come.”
To be continued.............
vids sample:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUq-CwzprLs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sEtN...elated&search=
Future Pinay Sharapova, Davenport etc., in the making?
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