Ilie “Nasty” Nastase: The Bad Boy Tennis Star from Romania

Ilie “Nasty” Nastase was among a group of bad boys in the 1970’s.

Ilie “Nasty” Nastase was a tennis player who often challenged the sport during a time when it was spreading from upper class to middle class audiences. In one such account at Wimbledon 1975, Nastase was feeling particularly irritated with the rules, inaccurate line calls and bad decisions by the umpires. After breaking his racket and yelling in the dressing room, he didn’t feel satisfied. The Romanian wanted to get back at the establishment and incorporated his buddy Jimmy Connors to help him.

• Nastase was the number one ranked player in the world in 1973 and 1974
• The Romanian won the French Open without dropping a set in 1973
• He was rumored to have slept with over 2,500 women

The two court legends went to a sporting goods shop and bought rugby shirts. Walking onto the court for their doubles match, Nastase and Connors wore their rugby shirts proudly. The red shirt combined with the communist reference “got a rise” out of the officials. As the pair took off the shirts, they proceeded to wear bowler hats. Always in gambling news, such episodes were typical for the player who was nicknamed “Nasty” on account of his penchant for tennis play, wild boy shenanigans and spawning irritation.

Ilie “Nasty” Nastase came out of obscurity

Ilie “Nasty” Nastase was born in Bucharest, Romania in 1946. Although little is known about the flamboyant player’s early years, he first appeared on the international stage while competing in the Davis Cup competition. Nasty’s first tournament win was in 1967 at Cannes. Two years later, he was defeating top players in Stockholm which included Tony Roche and Stan Smith.

By 1970, Nastase was one of the best players in the world and was technically ranked by critics as the sixth best player in the world. Victories at the Italian Open and U.S. Indoor Open further validated his prowess. At the 1971 French Open, Nastase progressed to the final where he lost in four sets to Jan Kodes. By winter the Romanian was able to secure

He didn’t take himself very seriously

his first Masters Grand Prix title.

The following year the tennis bad boy almost won at Wimbledon, but lost in the final to Stan Smith. Considered the most exciting match at the tournament, much of the crowd sympathized with the young contemptuous hopeful. Such a reaction today would’ve brought the Romanian serious interest from online sportsbooks in the UK. Nasty won the U.S. Open by defeating Arthur Ashe in five sets. As a result, he was ranked world number two. The tennis bad boy played in the final at Wimbledon, but lost to Stan Smith.

Although Smith defeated Nastase in Davis Cup play in Bucharest, the Romanian star struck back when he won his second Masters Grand Prix title. By 1973, Nastase was beginning to live up to his name. Winning 17 tournaments including the French Open, the bad boy secured the world number one ranking. In Davis Cup he won seven of his eight matches. Remarkably, Nasty’s victory at the French Open without losing a set has only been repeated by Bjorn Borg and Rafael Nadal.

Ilie “Nasty” Nastase continued his prevalence

In 1974, Nastase qualified for the WCT Finals and Masters Grand Prix finals. The Romanian once again reached the finals of the Masters Grand Prix the following year where he beat Borg in straight sets. 1976 was rather active for the Romanian as he won the Atlanta WCT, Avis Challenge Cup WCT, U.S. Open Indoor and La Costa tournaments. His match play against the top players may have been at its peak beating Connors 2-1, Guillermo Villas 1-0, Ashe 1-0 and Borg 2-0.

Like Connors, Nastase was prevented from entering the French Open due to their argument of scheduling conflicts with World Team Tennis. At that time, most top players didn’t travel to the Australian Open to play. By 1977 Nastase was ranked world number nine. Although he was only a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon and the French Open, the Romanian was still considered one of the top players. From then on, his ranking declined while he maintained a level of solid play until his retirement in 1985 at 39 years old.

Ilie “Nasty” Nastase was known for his foolery on the court and helped make tennis more competitive against America’s national sport, baseball. Also called the “Bucharest Buffoon”, Nastase often would do something crazy to move the crowd. His overall mastery of the court allowed the Romanian to make many “mind-boggling” shots which were seen as “magical.” Such antics combined with superior play would have made Nastase fun for punters into mobile betting.

The Romanian is in third place by the ATP for the most pro titles at 103. As dominant as he was, Nasty carried his controversy into his personal life. Having been married four times, Nastase was with a slew of actresses and fashion models. Described by Maxim magazine as a “living sex legend”, the player was said to have slept with over 2,500 women. Although the real figures were between 800 and 900 women, the large number gave Nasty even higher regard with women and his wife. Nastase is currently employed at the Romanian Ministry of Defense.