Ilie Nastase
(born July 19, 1946, in Bucharest, Romania) is a former Romanian professional tennis player and one of the top players of the 1970s. Năstase was the World No. 1 in 1973 according to the Association of Tennis Professionals computer rankings, which placed him first from August 23, 1973, to June 2, 1974.
Among his 84 singles titles, only 53 of which are recorded on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) website, are the U.S. Open in 1972 (defeating Arthur Ashe in a five set final) and the French Open in 1973. In men's doubles, he won Wimbledon in 1973, the French Open in 1970, and the U.S. Open in 1975. He was the singles runner-up at Wimbledon in 1972, losing in five sets to Stan Smith, and in 1976, losing to Björn Borg.
Năstase won the Masters tournament four times, in 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1975. Only Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl won more titles there.At the beginning of his career in 1966, Năstase traveled around the world competing with his good friend Ion Tiriac. Together, they reached the Davis Cup challenge round in 1969 and 1971. In 1972, they reached the Davis Cup final, the challenge round having been abolished. However, they never won the trophy for Romania.
In singles, Năstase won his first minor tournament at Cannes on April 16, 1967. His first final at an important tournament was in 1969 in Stockholm, where he defeated Tony Roche and Smith.
Năstase became one of the best players in 1970, with many experts ranking him as the sixth best player in the world after the Australians Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, John Newcombe, and Roche and the American Ashe. Năstase's high ranking resulted from his success at the Italian Open in Rome and at the U.S. Indoor Open in Salisbury, Maryland. With Tiriac, Năstase won the men's doubles title at the French Open.
In 1971, Năstase was the runner-up at a depleted French Open with 16 of the 32 World Championship Tennis (WCT) players absent. Năstase lost in four sets to Jan Kodeš. In December, Năstase won the Grand Prix Masters, again without the WCT players.
The two following years saw Năstase's apogee.
In 1972, he became the second ranked player in the world (see World number one male tennis player rankings), owing to his winning the U.S. Open in a five set final over Ashe. This tournament was the only event of the year in which all the best players participated. Two months before in a depleted Wimbledon, Năstase lost to Smith in five sets. In the Davis Cup, in which WCT players were still not allowed to participate, Năstase was undefeated in singles until losing to Smith in the final tie. In December, Năstase won his first match of the year with Smith and his second consecutive Grand Prix Masters title. (The WCT players were again absent from the tournament.) Smith defeated Năstase four of the five times they played that year.
In 1973, Wimbledon and the Australian Open again had very depleted fields. Roughly 80 players boycotted Wimbledon because of a controversy involving Nikki Pilic. Only 4 of the 20 best players in the world entered (Năstase, Kodeš, Roger Taylor and Connors). As usual from 1972 through 1982, very few of the best players visited the Australian continent. Among the top 20 players, only Rosewall and Newcombe participated. Five events stood out that year: (1) the U.S. Open with only Roy Emerson missing; (2) the French Open (among the best clay court players, only Rosewall, Laver, and Emerson were absent); (3) the Grand Prix Masters, this time accessible to all players; (4) the WCT finals, reserved for WCT players (not including Năstase, Newcombe, Connors, and Manuel Orantes); and (5) the Davis Cup, open to everyone for the first time in its history. By winning 17 tournaments in 1973 (the French Open, the Masters, the other 12 listed on the ATP website plus Washington D.C., Istanbul, and Kingston), Năstase was the undisputed World No. 1 that year. In the Davis Cup, he won 7 of 8 singles rubbers, including a victory over Tom Okker, the "Flying Dutchman." In matches against the other top players, Năstase was 1-0 against Newcombe and 1-1 against Smith. The Romanian won the French Open without dropping a set (a feat repeated twice by Borg in 1978 and 1980), and he won the French Open (clay) - Rome (clay) - Queen's Club (grass) in succession, a feat never equaled in the open era.
In terms of public popularity, Năstase was then at the peak of his career, famous both for his technical and physical genius and for his good humor on court. But among referees and other players, his reputation for gamesmanship resulted in the nickname "Nasty" after several incidents where his temperament got the better of him. For one year, other players scorned him in locker rooms and did not speak to him.