TENNIS ROUNDUP : Cash Blows Past Mancini to Give Australia 1-0 Lead

Pat Cash beat Alberto Mancini, 6-1, 6-1, 6-2, today to give Australia a 1-0 lead over Argentina in their Davis Cup semifinal at Sydney, Australia.

Cash, the 1987 Wimbledon champion who is recovering from an Achilles’ tendon injury, is ranked 97th in the world, 19 places below Mancini. Cash was able to dominate the 90-minute match with powerful serves and precise volleying.

The Argentine clearly was uncomfortable on the unfamiliar grass courts, while Cash, who led Australia to Davis Cup victories in 1983 and 1986, played with poise and power.

The second singles match in the best-of-five contest was to be played between Australian Wally Masur and Argentina’s No. 1 player, Martin Jaite.

The doubles, in which Australians Darren Cahill and Mark Kratzmann will play Javier Frana and Christain Miniussi, is scheduled for Saturday with the reverse singles on Sunday.

The winner of the match will play the winner of this weekend’s United States-Austria match in the final.

Steffi Graf routed Katerina Maleeva, 6-4, 6-1, Thursday to win the first Gold and Diamond Ball women’s tennis tournament at Las Palmas in the Canary Islands.

Maleeva, of Bulgaria, won the first three games before Graf, of West Germany, got on track, losing only two more games the rest of the match.

Graf, ranked No. 1 in the world, reached the final Wednesday by beating Mary Joe Fernandez, 6-2, 6-4. The winner’s share was $75,000.

Maleeva qualified by upsetting Spain’s Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.

Second-seeded Sandra Cecchini of Italy advanced to the quarterfinals of the Paris Open with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Alexia Dechaume of France.

Cecchini will face Regina Rajchrtova of Czechoslovakia, the No. 7 seeded player, who defeated Lucian Corsato of Brazil, 6-2, 6-0.