Tennis Roundup : Unseeded Wilkison Discovers Noah’s Point of No Return, Scores Upset

Unseeded Tim Wilkison said his glimpse of Yannick Noah’s play on Wednesday helped him defeat the third-seeded Frenchman Thursday in the third round of the Assn. of Tennis Professionals Championship at Mason, Ohio.

“I watched his returns,” said Wilkison, 25, of Asheville, N.C. “He doesn’t do much with the ball. I won a lot of points today because of that.”

Wilkison, ranked 48th in the world, defeated the 25-year-old Noah, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3.

Noah, ranked seventh in the world, said Wilkison’s aggressive game bothered him.

“Usually, I like to attack,” Noah said.

In another third-round upset, Hank Pfister defeated eighth-seeded Henrik Sundstrom of Sweden, 6-0, 6-1.

Sundstrom, the world’s No. 16 player, said his serve was off.

“I didn’t get my serve in rhythm,” he said. “On the other hand, Hank Pfister was serving very well.”

Pfister put it more bluntly, saying, “I served very well, and he served terribly.”

Top-seeded Mats Wilander of Sweden celebrated his 21st birthday with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Ken Flach.

Wilander did not comment much about the win, instead talking about what he will have to tackle after the ATP--the U.S. Open at Flushing Meadow, N.Y.

“I don’t go into a tournament expecting to win it,” he said. “I’m not an American. Only one person can go in expecting to win, and that’s (John) McEnroe.”

In other matches, second-seeded Anders Jarryd of Sweden defeated Marc Flur, 7-5, 6-4, and fifth-seeded Stefan Edberg of Sweden defeated Tom Gullikson, 6-4, 6-2.

Helen Kelesi of Canada added another victim to her growing list of upsets when the 15-year-old qualifier eliminated fifth-seeded Virginia Ruzici of Romania, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4, to advance to the semifinals of the Virginia Slims tournament at Monticello, N.Y.

Kelesi, who turned professional only last week and had to earn a spot in the main singles draw by winning three qualifying matches, defeated a seeded player for the second time in two days. She scored a three-set stunner over fourth-seeded Katerina Maleeva of Bulgaria Wednesday.

In a match marked by baseline rallies, Kelesi and Ruzici each dominated a set before the veteran Romanian broke Kelesi’s serve in the second game of the final set. But Kelesi, playing aggressively, broke right back in the next game and again in the seventh game when Ruzici double-faulted.

In another quarterfinal battle, second-seeded Barbara Potter stopped No. 8 Sandra Cecchini of Italy, 6-4, 6-3.

In third-round matches, top-seeded Helena Sukova defeated Lea Antonoplis, 6-1, 6-4, and third-seeded Sylvia Hanika of West Germany downed South Africa’s Rene Uys, 6-2, 6-0.