San Francisco Tennis Tournament : Wilkinson Defeats Pate in First Round

Tim Wilkinson used his aggressive serve-and-volley style Thursday to unravel fifth-seeded David Pate for a 2-6, 7-6, 6-3, first-round victory in the $425,000 TransAmerica tennis championships.

In the afternoon’s other matches: qualifier Dannie Visser defeated fellow qualifier Richard Matuszewski, 6-1, 7-6.

Pate, of Las Vegas, strung together three straight game victories to take the opening set. Wilkinson dug in during the second set and broke Pate on the ninth point of the tie-breaker to even the match.

Wilkinson, coming to the net on every opportunity, won the first two games of the deciding set, but Pate battled back to pull within 4-3. Wilkinson then held serve and broke Pate at 15-40 to take control of the match.

“I felt I was hitting the ball pretty well in the first set,” Wilkinson said. “Even if I lost, I was satisfied. I grounded out pretty well. I felt I was being gutsy.”

Pate said he lost his concentration during the latter stages of the match.

“He didn’t do anything to hurt me,” he said. “I just lost my concentration and was terrible in the second and third sets. That’s the problem with my game. My mind just seems to wonder.”