Tennis Roundup : Leach-Pugh Team Wins Masters Doubles Crown

Rick Leach of Laguna Beach and Jim Pugh of Palos Verdes culminated a memorable first season as full-time partners Sunday by winning the Masters Doubles title with a 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 6-0 victory over Spain’s Sergio Casal and Emilio Sanchez.

Leach and Pugh, friends and rivals as teen-agers and college players, shared the top prize of $72,000 for their victory at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

“I can’t believe it,” Leach said. “What a turnaround from the first match. I never expected this.”

The Americans, who finished the season on top of the doubles points standings, lost in straight sets in their opening match in the round robin portion of the draw.

But they won their next two matches to make the semifinals and then routed Todd Witsken and Jorge Lozano, 7-6, 6-1, 6-2.

Helena Sukova and Radka Zrubakova, both unbeaten throughout the week, led Czechoslovakia to a 2-1 victory over the top-seeded Soviet Union in the final of the Federation Cup tennis tournament at Melbourne, Australia.

Zrubakova, 17, defeated Larissa Savchenko, 6-1, 7-6, in the opening singles.

Sukova then defeated the world’s seventh-ranked player, Natalia Zvereva, 6-3, 6-4, to clinch the title.

Savchenko and Zvereva later combined to score a 7-6, 7-5 doubles victory over Jana Novotna and Jana Pospislova.

Eleventh-ranked John McEnroe defeated No. 2 Ivan Lendl, 7-5, 6-2 in the final of the $300,000 Michelin Challenge exhibition at the Forum.

McEnroe, who won in 1 hour, 7 minutes, earned $100,000. Lendl won $60,000.

No. 30 Michael Chang defeated No. 3 Andre Agassi, 6-3, 6-3, to place third. He won $40,000. Agassi won $25,000.

Martina Navratilova relied on a strong serve and precision groundstrokes to wear down Betsy Nagelsen in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3, to win an exhibition tournament at Haverford College in Philadelphia.

Navratilova earned $20,000; Nagelsen $10,000.

Navratilova and Nagelsen later teamed to win the doubles final against Tracy Austin and Robin White, 6-4, 6-3.