Ilie Năstase

Ilie Năstase , born the July 19th 1946 with Bucharest, is a former player of Rumanian Tennis . It was distinguished on the court by its direction from the spectacle, not hesitating neither to amuse the public, nor to be caught some verbally with the referee. But its escapades were those of a large player. First world number 1 of classification ATP, it gained in particular the US Open in 1972 and the Tournoi of Roland-Garros in 1973. It gained 88 tournois¹ (including 53 tournaments recorded by the ATP) into simple and 55 in doubles (including 47 recorded with the ATP) during its career.

¹ cf lower " Victories into simple in tournois" .

Career

Its international career begins in 1966 at twenty years. Previously it could not take part in the tournaments of young people out of the iron curtain. Thereafter it takes part on the other hand in the Coupe Davis, with its compatriot Ion Ţiriac, where the professionals under contract are not allowed: with its country it disputes two challenge-rounds in 1969 and 1971 as with the finale of 1972 but does not gain the trophy.

Năstase gains its first minor tournament in Cannes, on April 16th 1967 .

The Roumanian makes a success of his first true performance by disputing the finale of the tournament of Stockholm, on November 1st 1969 , after having eliminated inter alia, Tony Roche and Stan Smith.

He integrates the club of the 20 best players of the world as of 1970 : the majority of the specialists classify it around the 6th place behind the Australian quartet made up of Rod Laver - Ken Rosewall - John Newcombe - Tony Roche and the American Arthur Ashe thanks to its successes in Italian Open in Rome and the U.S. Indoor Open in Salisbury. He plays also much in double, with Ion Ţiriac, in spite of the difficulties raised by the Rumanian administration. Together they gain the double Sirs with Roland Garros this year. Even if it left at the stage the quarterfinals into simple, the history of love of Năstase with the Parisian tournament has just started.

In 1971 it reaches the final, beaten in four sets by Jan Kodeš, of the tournament of Roland Garros, devaluated by the absence of 16 of the 32 players under contract with the WCT. It gains also its first Masters Grand Prix where " WCT" players; are still absent because they are obliged to take part initially in their own circuit WCT.

The two following years Năstase reaches its apogee.

In 1972 it is essential like the second player of the world to see Tennis players world numbers 1). It is inclined vis-a-vis Stan Smith 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 finally of Wimbledon, tournament prohibits this year with all players WCT but especially it gains the Open U.S. which is the only tournament of all the year when all the best players of the world without exception take part: it beats in a memorable final, Arthur Ashe (6-3, 3-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3) then player WCT. In Coupe Davis, still closed with the players WCT, Năstase gains all its simple except that which finally opposes it to Stan Smith. Năstase gains second Masters (as in 1971 without players WCT) while beating for the first time of the Smith year which thus gained 4 meetings out of 5 vis-a-vis the Roumanian in 1972. In 1973 Wimbledon (with the boycott of approximately 80 players of the ATP and thus the presence from only 4 of the 20 best players of the world) and the Open of Australia with only 2 of 20 best of the world do not deserve the name of tournaments of the Large Slam: the 5 greater tests of the year are 1) the Open U.S., 2) Roland Garros, 3) Masters (this time accessible to all the players) , the 4) finales WCT of Dallas (which are the " Masters of the WCT" circuit;) and 5) Coupe Davis for the first time open to all the players including the professionals under contract. By gaining 2 of its tests (Roland Garros and Masters) more fifteen other tournaments is 17 tournaments (14 listed by the ATP plus Washington D.C., Istanbul, and Kingston) , Năstase continues like undeniable world number 1 in 1973. In Roland Garros in particular it is the first to gain the tournament without losing a sleeve (Björn Borg will imitate it in 1978 and 1980) and in particular it gains final 6-3 easily, 6-3, 6-0 against the Pilic Yugoslavian and returns in the legend. It carries out a new triplet in the Open Ère by gaining successively Roland Garros-Rome Queen' S Club (the first two tournaments on ground beaten and the third on grass). In Coupe Davis it gains 7 simple (of which 1 vis-a-vis Tom Okker) on 8 but Romania fails in semi-final. In the face-to-face discussions it leads 1-0 vis-a-vis to Newcombe and division the victories, 1-1, with Smith his two larger rivals. The " Buffoon of Bucarest" , becomes the most popular player within the public, allured by its exuberant style and its apparent relaxation, but the players, aggravated by his attitude, snobent it during one year in the cloakrooms.

1974 is the first year of the decline in spite of its qualifications at the same time with finales WCT in Dallas and Masters of the Grand Prix which it is the only one to carry out this year (Newcombe also takes part in the two events but is invited, as a local player, in Masters because it was not qualified). As usual Năstase illustrates itself in Masters, in particular in its semi-final against Newcombe (on the whole of their Năstase career Newcombe 4 times beat out of 5 by losing only the first confrontation in 1969). The Roumanian finally loses accuracy with the fifth set vis-a-vis Guillermo Vilas, the Argentinian one probably disputing the best match of all his career.

For the fifth consecutive year, Năstase disputes the finale of Masters 1975 (snobé for the second year of continuation by Jimmy Connors) and gains one 4th title by playing to him as in this tournament probably the best match of its career vis-a-vis Björn Borg as it dominates 6-2, 6-2, 6-1.

In first half of 1976 Năstase gains four tournaments (Atlanta WCT, Avis Challenge Cup WCT, Open U.S. Indoor, and Costa). Vis-a-vis all the best of the time it posts a strictly positive assessment since it leads 2 matches to 1 vis-a-vis Connors, 1-0 vis-a-vis Vilas, 1-0 vis-a-vis Ashe (finally of the Cup Opinion, tournament WCT except ATP) and 1-0 vis-a-vis Borg (in semi-final of the Cup Opinion). But it does not take part in the two first, chronologically, tournaments of the Large Slam, namely Open of Australia, been sulky by the best, and Roland Garros because it did not realize that its contract with WTT prevents it from disputing its preferred tournament. In second half of the year 1976 it disputes the two other tournaments of the Large Slam, which are two larger of the time to knowing Wimbledon and the U.S. Open: it respectively reaches the final and the semi-final only beaten by Björn Borg each time which takes its revenge of the preceding meetings lost vis-a-vis the Roumanian. Năstase is generally regarded by the specialists as the 3rd player in the world behind Connors and Borg in 1976.

In 1977 the specialists classify Năstase between 10th and the 15th world place (9th with the ATP) thanks to its quarterfinals in Wimbledon and Roland Garros and his qualification with the finales of Dallas.

1978 is the last year when Năstase still appears in Signal 20 in particular thanks to its victory in eighth of finale over the grass of Wimbledon in the costs of the gunner Roscoe Tanner before yielding in quarterfinals of the tournament vis-a-vis its old rival since his beginnings, the " Dutchman volant" (the " Flying Dutchman"), Tom Okker.

Thereafter the Roumanian declines regularly and gains only occasionally great victories like that on Johan Kriek with the third turn of the Open U.S. 1982.

It takes its retirement in October 1985 with the tournament of Toulouse, at 39 years, before a last-ditch struggle in June 1988 to the tournament challenger of Dijon.

Various comments

Năstase was able to perhaps play all the blows of tennis with share the flight which was a little weak but with its apogee it compensated for this relative weakness by an extraordinary speed on the court and a superb anticipation. It was one of the rare players if not the single able one to regularly carry out lobs of attack or defensive on the two sides of runs at the same time in right blow and reverse. Its true weakness came from its mental with changes of concentration or inhibitions at the time of matches with large stakes as at the time of its simple vis-a-vis Stan Smith finally of the Coupe Davis 1972 or at the time of its second final with Wimbledon in 1976.

Năstase and Jimmy Connors played often together in double with beginning of the year 70 and often played on the American winter circuit of the promoter and manager Bill Riordan.

Năstase was the first professional sportsman to sign a contract with Nike in 1972.

Anecdotes

In 1969,1972,1974 and 1975, it is elected Rumanian Sportif of the year.
In 2005, Tennis Magazine (US) places it 28e of its list of the forty larger players as of the time forty last years, behind Arantxa Sanchez, Jim Courier or Justine Henin. But in front of its rival eternal Arthur Ashe.
In 1981, Nastase receives the Orange Prix and the Lemon-yellow Prix with Roland Garros.
In 1990, Nastase obtains, in Roland Garros always, the Price of the decade. This trophy is allocated to the player who, over ten years, knew to impose his style and his talent tennistic, his fair play, and whose name will remain engraved in the Large Book of tennis.
It returns in policy in 1990 and is candidate with the town hall of Bucharest in 1996, where it fails. It returns towards tennis and becomes president of the Rumanian Federation of tennis.
In 2004, Ilie Nastase marries in third weddings the young mannequin Rumanian Amalia Teodorescu, thirty years its junior. The evening took place… with Roland-Garros, the day before the finale Sirs.

Prize list in Large Slam into Simple:

Victories: (2)

Finales: (3)

Prize list in Masters:

Victories: (4)

Finale: (1)

Detail of its performances in Large Slam and with Masters:

Prize list in Large Slam in Double:

Victories: (3)

Finale: (1)

Victories into simple in tournaments

Sources: ATP; Michel Sutter, Victorious Winners 1946-2003, Paris 2003; John Barrett editor, World off Yearbooks Tennis, London 1977; Joe McCauley in Mr. Nastase: The Autobiography by Ilie Nastase, Debbie Beckerman, 2004; ATP Official Guides to Professional Tennis 2004 (G18 page)

The term of challenger not having existed before the Eighties and having been adopted by the ATP for the secondary tournaments since 1978 there almost did not exist during the career of Năstase: the expression used here will be " tournament mineur".

There exists a small controversy on a victory of Nastase in 1969: according to Sutter it gained the tournament of Denver and according to McCauley the tournament of Ancona.

Gained tournaments: 88

Titles into Simple: 59 (53 listed by the Web site of the ATP and *6 observers in the ATP Player' S Guides)

Titles not listed by the Web site of the ATP: 29

Lost finales: 39 (35 listed by the Web site of the ATP and *4 observers in the ATP Player' S Guides)

¹ Final cancelled.

Titles in double: 55 (47 listed by the Web site of the ATP, *7 observers in the ATP Player' S Guides and ** 1 appear on the Web site of the ITF)

¹: Tournament Challenger

Lost finales: 41 (35 listed by the Web site of the ATP, *5 observers in the ATP Player' S Guides and ** 1 appear on the Web site of the ITF)

¹ Final cancelled

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