(FORTUNE Magazine) – ''I'm a lousy tennis player and getting worse,'' says Robert Chesek, 53, president of Phoenix Series Funds of Hartford, Connecticut. ''But I'm a darn good portfolio manager.'' Indeed. The $580 million Phoenix Growth Fund, which he personally oversees, is one of the few to beat Standard & Poor's 500-stock index every year since 1980. By shifting heavily to bonds and cash before Black Monday, Chesek wound up 12% ahead after 1987's wild ride, easily beating the S&P 500. Once stock prices fell to sensible levels, he bought growth stocks heavily. In an interview with FORTUNE's Peter Nulty, Chesek expounded on his post-crash optimism.

How do you see the economy? We don't think a recession is on the way. The consumer slowdown should curb imports, and our exports are doing very well. So we think the improvement in trade is going to surprise everybody. I'm not suggesting that we're going to have a great economy in 1988 but one where we can avoid a recession as we rebuild our consumer liquidity. I'm a believer that, during the rest of this century, interest rates will be restrained by a slow-growth economy. We'll continue to see low inflation, and price/earnings multiples of stocks moving higher. When I say I'm bullish, what I really mean is that the stock market could average 10%-a-year increases to the year 2000.

Why does this thinking lead you to growth stocks? In the environment we expect -- prolonged slow growth -- we like companies that are in fast-growing industries, not sensitive to the economy, and involved in the game of increasing their share of markets where they are already strong. It just happens that these companies are cheaper in relation to others than they have been in a long time. So we loaded up and continue to do so.

What kinds of companies fit that bill these days? We like the technology group. Digital Equipment, which makes up 5% of the Phoenix Growth Fund, is our largest holding. Some people are discouraged because Digital at the moment doesn't have as many new products coming out as some of its competition. But the stock's price/earnings multiple is only 80% as high as the market's.

How fast will the company grow? Though Digital has been extremely successful in the last five years, its future earnings-per-share growth may be limited to 15% a year. But that's well over twice the growth we see for the S&P 500 as a whole. We also own Apple Computer. Even if the personal computer business continues to grow only half as fast as in the past, it's going to be a good stock for us. We have a large holding in Sun Microsystems, which is a smaller company but one with the potential to grow to the size of Digital Equipment.

AT&T recently took a big position. Is that a plus for Sun? Sure. It gives the company credibility. Sun is doing so many things that if they all work it could be a 50%-a-year grower. We also own Tandem, Apollo, and Wang Laboratories.

Why does technology appeal when there is not a lot of growth in the economy at large? These companies' products help increase productivity, and we expect a capital spending surge.

Isn't Wang struggling with a succession problem? I watch management, but I primarily watch numbers. Wang has spent a great deal on R&D. It's got new products, and its recent quarter was a darn good one.

What catches your fancy besides technology? The hospital supply industry, partly because we have an aging population. We're also seeing consolidation in the industry -- the big seem to be getting bigger. We own Becton-Dickinson, Johnson & Johnson, Foris Laboratories, and St. Jude Medical. Drugs and hospital supply stocks are 13.7% of our portfolio.

What kind of growth do you see there? Almost all the companies are 15%-a-year growers.

What other industries look good? I like food companies and food wholesalers, which make up 6.6% of the portfolio. Borden and Sara Lee represent good value.

Sara Lee? Isn't frozen foods a crowded field? Yes, but I see earnings continually increasing at a rate of 13% or more. The most recent quarter, which we watched very carefully, was especially good. Sara Lee's stock, until very recently, was selling at a P/E equal to the market's, which seems cheap when you look at the company's superior growth rate. McDonald's is another large holding. The fast-food business is not doing well, but McDonald's continues to chug along with 13% to 18% quarterly earnings gains.

You're not worried about McDonald's saturating its market? I can't believe more hamburgers can be eaten in this nation, but the company is increasing market share and expanding abroad. Moving down the chain from food to garbage, we think that hazardous waste control is the most certain of all the future growth areas. We own Browning & Ferris and Waste Management. Their price/earnings multiples are high at about 18, but the stocks are worth it.

Do you have a stake in retailing? Yes, through Home Depot, a building supply company serving do-it- yourselfers, and Toys ''R'' Us. Last year was a very poor one for the toy industry, but Toys ''R'' Us just kept increasing market share.