Navratilova’s Past Is Present : Women’s tennis: She defeats No. 3-ranked Sanchez Vicario to top $19 million in earnings.

Obviously living in the past, Martina Navratilova knocked the ball past Arantxa Sanchez Vicario just often enough to move past $19 million in prize money for her long and still-continuing career.

At 36, there may not be many more finals like the one Navratilova played Sunday in the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles, but who’s counting?

Certainly not Navratilova, an eight-time winner of the tournament at Manhattan Beach, whose come-from-behind 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) victory over Sanchez Vicario counted for something more than the $75,000 winner’s share.

In nearly 18 years of knocking the ball where others can’t touch it, Navratilova now has won exactly $19,004,570.

It’s a wonderful sum of money, to be sure, Navratilova said sort of wistfully.

“I wish I had it,” she said. “I’ve supported a few law firms with my tennis.”

So far, there’s no law against the way Navratilova has supported herself with her racket, although Sanchez Vicario probably thinks what happened to her in the final was a crime.

First, there was the matter of Navratilova. She just wouldn’t go away, even when it would have been a lot simpler if she had.

Down a quick service break at 2-0 in the first set, Navratilova saw Sanchez Vicario serve for the set at 5-4, then came back to win the next three games.

Sanchez Vicario built a 5-1 lead in the second set and served for the set twice, at 5-2 and 5-4, only to watch Navratilova come back both times.

It was clearly upsetting to Sanchez Vicario.

“I could have won in two sets,” she said.

Instead, she played just well enough to lose in two sets.

Said Navratilova: “She didn’t close the door, and I slipped right through, thank you very much.”

At the same time, Sanchez Vicario felt grateful that there weren’t any more opponents out there on the court than there already were. On a couple of occasions, Sanchez Vicario wondered if chair umpire Jan Ryan was watching the same match she was playing.

Ryan ruled a let when a linesman was blocked from seeing a serve by Sanchez Vicario that would have put her within two points of taking the second set.

“I think that is not fair,” Sanchez Vicario said.

Then in the tiebreaker, Ryan mistakenly announced, “Game, set, match,” for Navratilova, which turned out to be premature since the score was 6-1.

Sanchez Vicario sarcastically clapped her racket and shook her head.

“I could not believe it when she say, ‘Game, set, match,’ ” Sanchez Vicario said. “How could she say that? I don’t think she is a very good umpire. I don’t think it was good for her to say that.”

Navratilova’s opinion of the umpire’s decisions was unobstructed.

“She just got all carried away,” Navratilova said. “I think (Ryan) did a very good job.”

Navratilova’s own performance against a 21-year-old foe was determined, if not stirring. In the current youth movement of women’s tennis, it was a triumph for the aged.

There were only four points’ difference out of the 140 points played in the match, which meant that for the 165th time in 232 finals, Navratilova did just what it took to win.

Cases in point:

--With Sanchez Vicario serving at 5-6 in the first set, Navratilova forced consecutive errors from 30-30 to close it out in 37 minutes.

--Leading at 6-1 in the tiebreaker, Navratilova watched Sanchez Vicario save three match points, but forced one final error on a passing shot to end it after 1 hour 28 minutes.

“I know what I did wrong,” Sanchez Vicario said.

As for Navratilova, well, what she does on the court isn’t exactly news, according to her victim.

“She is playing the same as always,” Sanchez Vicario said. “She is the best volley in all history. You are the one who has to make all the run and the passing shots.”

In any event, being the one left holding the racket while Navratilova added another title to her collection afforded Sanchez Vicario an opportunity to put the experience into perspective. “I think it is time probably to get a new champion,” she joked.

Not this year. It’s past time for that.

Tennis Notes

Gigi Fernandez and Natalia Zvereva, who have won six consecutive Grand Slam doubles titles, lost the doubles final to Helena Sukova and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3. . . . As far as the fight for No. 3 went, Sanchez Vicario lost the match, but still leads the battle. When the new computer rankings come out today, she will remain No. 3, in spite of Martina Navratilova’s contention before the tournament that she was better than her. Sanchez Vicario said she deserves to be No. 3: “I don’t think it’s because she let me go there.” Asked if her victory validated her claim on No. 3, Navratilova said no. “It just means I beat her again.”

Navratilova served four aces, had two double faults, won 54 of 92 points at the net and forced 30 errors by Sanchez Vicario. . . . Navratilova said there is no chance she would retire if she won the U.S. Open. “I suppose that would be a nice way to go, win the whole thing and just say, ‘See ya!’ I could play for five more years--no I couldn’t, not five more years.”