TENNIS ROUNDUP : Chesnokov Breaks Bank With Monte Carlo Victory

Andrei Chesnokov of the Soviet Union, sprinting all over the court, downed Thomas Muster of Austria, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3, Sunday in the final of the Monte Carlo Open.

Chesnokov picked up $125,000, the biggest paycheck of his career. Muster won $65,800.

“It was a big win and something I will remember for the rest of my life,” said Chesnokov, ranked 20th in the world. “It is a great tournament and I think this is the biggest win for a Russian tennis player.”

Not only the most important, but also the most lucrative.

“I already have the money in my pocket,” Chesnokov said.

Chesnokov has in the past been forced to split his winnings with the Soviet Federation, but after a tournament victory last year he said he would talk to officials about arranging a better deal between himself and his agents. According to his agents, Chesnokov now retains about 40%.

It is considerably better than the $496 he collected on the $59,500 he won for the Orlando tournament in 1988.

Chesnokov, seeded 12th, had little trouble against Muster after winning a long first set that lasted 70 minutes.

“The first set was very tough,” Chesnokov said. “I got more confidence after that.”

Muster, ranked 30th in the world, was trying for his fifth tournament title since coming back to the circuit. Last April, he made the final of the International Players Championship, but was unable to play due to a leg injury after a car backed into him, causing knee damage. He was sidelined for more than six months.

Arantxa Sanchez Vicario of Spain settled down after a shaky second-set start to beat Isabel Cueto of West Germany, 6-4, 6-2, in the final of the Spanish Women’s International at Barcelona.

Sanchez, the top-seeded player in the $150,000 tournament, held serve throughout the first set but faltered early in the second, giving up consecutive breaks to Cueto, who qualified for the final with an upset over Mary Joe Fernandez.

But Cueto, who appeared to hurt her left thigh early in the second set, failed to hold her serve even once, and double-faulted at break point to go down 2-3.

Australian Pat Cash won his first tournament since an injury sidelined him eight months ago, beating Alex Antonitsch of Austria, 6-3, 6-4, in the Hong Kong Open.

Cash had nine aces in the 80-minute match and scored repeatedly with strong attacks at the net that often left Antonitsch stranded on the wrong side of the court.