Ilie Năstase

Ilie Năstase

Ilie Năstase in 2004
Country (sports)	Romania
Born	19 July 1946 Bucharest, Romania
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Turned pro	1969
Retired	1985
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money	US$ 2,076,761
Int. Tennis HoF	1991 (member page)
Singles
Career record	776–301 (72.05%)
Career titles	58 (12th in the Open Era)
Highest ranking	No. 1 (23 August 1973)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	1R (1981)
French Open	W (1973)
Wimbledon	F (1972, 1976)
US Open	W (1972)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	W (1971, 1972, 1973, 1975)
WCT Finals	QF (1974, 1977, 1978)
Doubles
Career record	479–208
Career titles	45 (ATP listed)
Highest ranking	No. 10 (30 August 1977)[1]
Team competitions
Davis Cup	F (1969^Ch, 1971^Ch, 1972)

Ilie "Nasty" Năstase (Romanian pronunciation: [iˈli.e nəsˈtase], born 19 July 1946) is a Romanian former world No. 1 professional tennis player, one of the world's top players of the 1970s. Năstase was ranked world No. 1 between 1973 (23 August) and 1974 (2 June). He is one of the five players in history to win more than 100 ATP professional titles (58 singles and 45 in doubles).^[1] He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1991. Năstase won seven Grand Slam titles: two in singles, three in men's doubles, and two in mixed doubles. He also won four Masters Grand Prix year-end championship titles and seven Championship Series titles (1970–73), the precursors to the current Masters 1000. In 2005, Tennis magazine ranked him as the 28th-best player of the preceding 40 years. He is the second male player to win a Grand Slam event without dropping a set and the first one to achieve this feat at the French Open (1973).

Career

Năstase playing a Davis Cup match against The Netherlands in The Hague (1973)

Năstase on a 2004 Romanian stamp

At the beginning of his career in 1966, Năstase travelled around the world competing with his good friend Ion Țiriac. Together, they represented Romania in the Davis Cup competition, being three times runners up: in 1969, 1971, and 1972.

In singles, Năstase won his first tournament at Cannes on 16 April 1967. His first victories against top players happened in 1969 in Stockholm, where he defeated Tony Roche and Stan Smith.

Năstase became one of the best players in 1970, with many experts ranking him as the sixth-best player in the world at that time, behind the Australians Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, John Newcombe, and Roche and the American Arthur 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 the French Open. where he lost the final in four sets to Jan Kodeš. In December, Năstase won his first Masters Grand Prix title.

In 1972, he became the no. 2 in the world, owing to his winning the US Open in a five-set final over Arthur Ashe. This tournament was the only event of the year in which all the best players participated. Two months before at Wimbledon, Năstase narrowly lost to Stan Smith in an epic^[2] five-set final, one of the most exciting championship matches there.^[3] Although Smith took the title, public sympathy lay with the volatile Romanian.^[2]

In the Davis Cup, Năstase was undefeated in singles until losing to Stan Smith in the final played on clay in his native Bucharest. In December at the year-end tour finals, Năstase took revenge against Smith, winning his second consecutive Masters Grand Prix title.

In 1973, he was in sensational form.^[2] By winning 17 tournaments, including the French Open, a doubles title at Wimbledon, and a third Masters title, Năstase was the undisputed world No.1 that year. In the Davis Cup, he won seven of eight 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 by Björn Borg in 1978 and 1980 and by Rafael Nadal in 2008 and 2010), and he won the French Open (clay), Rome (clay) and Queen's Club (grass) in succession, a feat never repeated in the open era, though Borg won Rome, the French Open, and Wimbledon in succession in 1978, and Nadal won the French Open, Queen's Club, and Wimbledon in succession in 2008.

In 1974, he was the only player to qualify for both the WCT Finals and the Masters Grand Prix finals. As usual, Năstase played well in the Masters, in particular against Newcombe in the semifinals. (Năstase finished his career with a 4–1 record versus Newcombe, losing only their first match in 1969.) The Romanian, however, lost the final to Guillermo Vilas in five sets.

For the fifth consecutive year, Năstase reached the Masters Grand Prix Final in 1975, where he defeated Björn Borg, 6–2, 6–2, 6–1.

During the first half of 1976, Năstase won four tournaments (Atlanta WCT, Avis Challenge Cup WCT, US Open Indoor, and La Costa), and head-to-head, he led Connors 2–1, Vilas 1–0, Ashe 1–0, and Borg 2–0. Năstase did not enter the Australian Open, which was again avoided by most of the top players. Năstase was prevented from entering the French Open because he participated in World Team Tennis. In the second half of the year, Nastase lost to Borg in the men's singles final of Wimbledon and in the semifinals of the US Open. Năstase won three other tournaments during the second half of the year, the Pepsi Grand Slam, South Orange, and the four-man tournament of Caracas, Venezuela, in October (not to be confused with the Caracas WCT tournament in March), making seven tournament championships for the year. Năstase was the world No. 3, behind Connors and Borg.

In 1977, Năstase finished no. 9 in the ATP rankings. He was a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon and the French Open and participated in the WCT Finals. Năstase was still one of the 20 best players in 1978. At Wimbledon, he again reached the quarterfinals, losing to Okker after defeating Roscoe Tanner.

During the remainder of his career, Năstase steadily declined and only occasionally defeated a good player, such as Johan Kriek in the third round of the 1982 US Open. Năstase retired from the tour in October 1985 at the age of 39 after playing in the tournament in Toulouse, although he did play the challenger tournament at Dijon in June 1988.

Playing style

Considered one of the most gifted tennis players in history, Ilie Năstase was noted both for his sorcery with the racket and his ability to entertain, amusing spectators with his antics and mimicry. Even during a crucial phase of a match, he was likely to do something bizarre that would entertain the crowd.^[2] Nicknamed the Bucharest Buffoon, Nastase could master all the shots, playing either baseline or serve-and-volley.^[1] One of the fastest players, he is remembered for his magnificent lobs and retrieves. Nastase could apply a discomforting spin to his shots, being an expert at putting the ball just beyond an opponent's reach. His greatest weakness was a fragile nervous system and erratic temperament, but when he maintained his concentration during a match, he could conjure up the most devastating tennis,^[2] being regarded as a tennis magician^[2] or an artist creating with great originality and panache.^[1] Năstase pioneered a distinctive tennis shot, a backward, over-the-shoulder wrist-flick useful as a last resort in recovering lobs. Tennis writer Bud Collins dubbed the shot the "Bucharest Backfire" after Năstase.^[4]

According to The Independent, Năstase is best remembered for being one of the best players never to win the singles title at Wimbledon, for his tantrums, and his good looks.^[5]

Athletic distinctions

• Năstase won the Tennis Masters Cup tournament (today ATP World Tour Finals) four times, in 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1975. Only Roger Federer (6 times), Pete Sampras, Ivan Lendl and Novak Djokovic (5 times) succeeded to win more.
• He is one of the five tennis players (third place) in the world who won more than 100 pro titles (57 singles and 45 doubles) according to the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) website,^[1] though there are many titles that are not included in the ATP statistics. (see Career statistics section).
• Năstase was the first professional sports figure to sign an endorsement contract with Adidas in 1972.

Awards and accolades

• Năstase was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1991.
• In 2005, TENNIS Magazine put Năstase in the 28th place in its list of 40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS era.
• In March 2009 Ilie Năstase was made a knight of the France's Legion d'honneur, being acclaimed for his "impressive sporting career" and "the sense of spectacle" he created when playing.^[6]

Non-tennis activities

Năstase wrote several novels in French in the 1980s.^[7][8] He entered politics in the 1990s, making an unsuccessful run for mayor of Bucharest in 1996.^[9] Elected to the Romanian Senate for a Bucharest seat in 2012, he initially sat for the Conservative Party, switching to the National Union for the Progress of Romania in July 2015, after the former party ceased to exist.^[10]

Personal life

Năstase has been married four times: his first wife was Dominique Grazia, a Belgian fashion model, whom he married at the age of 26, and with whom he has a daughter, Nathalie. They were married for ten years. His second wife was American actress Alexandra King, whom he married in 1984 and with whom he adopted two children, Nicholas and Charlotte. His third wife was Romanian fashion model Amalia Teodosescu, whom he married in 2004. They have two children, Alessia and Emma Alexandra. After they split up in 2010, he married Romanian fashion model Brigitte Sfăt in 2013.^[11][12]

Maxim has placed Năstase at number 6 on its top ten "Living Sex Legends" list, as he is reputed to have slept with over 2500 women.^[13] Năstase's own guess, which was at 800–900 women, was too low for the writer of his biography who wanted a larger number, to improve his reputation, as it evidently did.^[14] After hearing this, his third wife, Amalia, said that she was happy to have conquered such a man. Năstase met Amalia at a Sting concert and married her in a Greek Orthodox ceremony on 5 June 2004 followed by a Civil ceremony in July of the same year. They divorced in February 2010, after six years of marriage.^[15] As he played for the Army's sports club Steaua, he was an employee of the Ministry of Defence. Now he has the rank of Major General.

Career statistics

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 5 (2–3)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1971	French Open	Clay	Jan Kodeš	6–8, 2–6, 6–2, 5–7
Runner-up	1972	Wimbledon	Grass	Stan Smith	6–4, 3–6, 3–6, 6–4, 5–7
Winner	1972	US Open	Grass	Arthur Ashe	3–6, 6–3, 6–7^(1–5), 6–4, 6–3
Winner	1973	French Open	Clay	Nikola Pilić	6–3, 6–3, 6–0
Runner-up	1976	Wimbledon (2)	Grass	Björn Borg	4–6, 2–6, 7–9

Doubles: 5 (3–2)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1966	French Championships	Clay	Ion Țiriac	Clark Graebner Dennis Ralston	3–6, 3–6, 0–6
Winner	1970	French Open	Clay	Ion Țiriac	Arthur Ashe Charlie Pasarell	6–2, 6–4, 6–3
Runner-up	1973	French Open	Clay	Jimmy Connors	John Newcombe Tom Okker	1–6, 6–3, 3–6, 7–5, 4–6
Winner	1973	Wimbledon	Grass	Jimmy Connors	John Cooper Neale Fraser	3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 8–9(3), 6–1
Winner	1975	US Open	Clay	Jimmy Connors	Tom Okker Marty Riessen	6–4, 7–6

Mixed doubles: 3 (2–1)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner	1970	Wimbledon	Grass	Rosemary Casals	Olga Morozova Alex Metreveli	6–3, 4–6, 9–7
Winner	1972	Wimbledon	Grass	Rosemary Casals	Evonne Goolagong Cawley Kim Warwick	6–4, 6–4
Runner-up	1972	US Open	Grass	Rosemary Casals	Margaret Court Marty Riessen	3–6, 5–7

Year-End Championships

Singles: 5 (4–1)

Outcome	Year	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1971	Paris	Hard (i)	Stan Smith	5–7, 7–6^(7–4), 6–3
Winner	1972	Barcelona	Hard (i)	Stan Smith	6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 2–6, 6–3
Winner	1973	Boston	Carpet	Tom Okker	6–3, 7–5, 4–6, 6–3
Runner-up	1974	Melbourne	Grass	Guillermo Vilas	6–7^(6–8), 2–6, 6–3, 6–3, 4–6
Winner	1975	Stockholm	Carpet	Björn Borg	6–2, 6–2, 6–1

Singles performance timeline

Key

W

F

SF

QF

R#

RR

Q#

A

NH

(W) Won tournament; reached (F) final, (SF) semifinal, (QF) quarterfinal; (R#) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a (RR) round-robin stage; reached a (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent from tournament; or (NH) tournament not held.

Qualifying matches and Walkovers are neither official match wins nor losses.

Tournament	1966	1967	1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	SR	W–L	Win %
Australian Open																1R					0 / 1	0–1	0.00
French Open			2R	1R	QF	F	1R	W	QF	3R		QF		1R		3R	2R	3R	1R		1 / 14	33–13	71.74
Wimbledon				3R	4R	2R	F	4R	4R	2R	F	QF	QF		3R	1R	1R				0 / 13	35–13	72.92
US Open				4R		3R	W	2R	3R	QF	SF	2R		2R	2R	1R	4R	1R	1R	1R	1 / 15	29–14	67.44
Win–Loss	0–0	0–0	1–1	5–3	7–2	9–3	13–2	11–2	9–3	7–3	10–2	9–3	4–1	1–2	3–2	2–4	4–3	2–2	0–2	0–1	2 / 42	97–41	70.29
The Masters						W	W	W	F	W											4 / 5	22–3	88.00
Davis Cup	P	P	P	F	P	F	F	SF	QF	P	P	QF		P	QF		1R	2R	1R		0 / 17	74–22	77.08
Tournaments	0	0	2	11	11	19	32	29	27	25	23	20	22	21	19	26	24	11	12	4	338
Titles–Finals	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–2	2–3	7–11	12–16	15–18	6–11	5–9	6–13	3–5	2–5	0–1	0–0	0–2	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	*59 / 96	*59–37	61.46
Overall Win–Loss	0–2	2–2	9–2	24–13	40–13	76–12	120–20	114–17	77–21	91–21	76–13	48–19	48–21	30–23	22–25	22–26	15–25	8–13	4–14	1–4	827/1133	**827–306	72.99
Year End Ranking	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	10	7	3	9	16	49	79	79	79	118	202	431	$2,076,761

• * including 57 pre-ATP and ATP titles
• ** including 749 – 287 (overall – 1036) listed by the ATP

Records

• These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis.

Championship	Years	Record accomplished	Player tied
Masters Grand Prix	1971–1975	88.00% (22–3) match winning percentage[16]	Stands alone
Grand Prix Tour	1968–1985	42 five set match wins	Stands alone

Singles titles (58)

As listed on the ATP website but including titles which predate the formation of the ATP in 1972.

No.	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
1.	1970	Salisbury, US	Carpet (i)	Cliff Richey	6–8, 3–6, 6–4, 9–7, 6–0
2.	1970	Rome, Italy	Clay	Jan Kodeš	6–3, 1–6, 6–3, 8–6
3.	1971	Richmond, US	Hard (i)	Arthur Ashe	3–6, 6–2, 6–4
4.	1971	Hampton, US	Hard (i)	Clark Graebner	7–5, 6–4, 7–6
5.	1971	Nice, France	Hard	Jan Kodeš	10–8, 11–9, 6–1
6.	1971	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Tom Okker	3–6, 8–6, 6–1, 6–1
7.	1971	Båstad, Sweden	Clay	Jan Leschly	6–7, 6–2, 6–1, 6–4
8.	1971	Wembley, UK	Hard (i)	Rod Laver	3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–4, 6–4
9.	1971	Tennis Masters Cup, Paris	Carpet (i)	Stan Smith	5–7, 7–6, 6–3
10.	1972	Baltimore, US	Hard	Jimmy Connors	1–6, 6–4, 7–6
11.	1972	Omaha, US	Hard (i)	Ion Țiriac	2–6, 6–1, 6–1
12.	1972	Monte Carlo, Monaco (2)	Clay	František Pala	6–1, 6–0, 6–3
13.	1972	Madrid, Spain	Clay	František Pala	6–0, 6–0, 6–1
14.	1972	Nice, France	Clay	Jan Kodeš	6–0, 6–4, 6–3
15.	1972	Düsseldorf, Germany	Clay	Jürgen Fassbender	6–0, 6–2, 6–1
16.	1972	Toronto, Canada	Clay	Andrew Pattison	6–4, 6–3
17.	1972	US Open, New York	Grass	Arthur Ashe	3–6, 6–3, 6–7, 6–4, 6–3
18.	1972	South Orange, US	Hard	Manuel Orantes	6–4, 6–4
19.	1972	Seattle, US	Hard	Tom Gorman	6–4, 3–6, 6–3
20.	1972	London	Carpet (i)	Tom Gorman	6–4, 6–3
21.	1972	Tennis Masters Cup, Barcelona (2)	Carpet (i)	Stan Smith	6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 2–6, 6–3
22.	1973	Omaha, US	Hard (i)	Jimmy Connors	5–0, retired
23.	1973	Calgary, Canada	Hard (i)	Paul Gerken	6–4, 7–6
24.	1973	Washington Indoor, US	Carpet (i)	Jimmy Connors	4–6, 6–4, 6–2, 5–7, 6–2
25.	1973	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Adriano Panatta	6–1, 3–6, 6–1, 6–2
26.	1973	Monte Carlo, Monaco (3)	Clay	Björn Borg	6–4, 6–1, 6–2
27.	1973	Madrid, Spain (2)	Clay	Adriano Panatta	6–3, 7–6, 5–7, 6–1
28.	1973	Florence, Italy	Clay	Adriano Panatta	6–3, 3–6, 0–6, 7–6, 6–4
29.	1973	French Open, Paris	Clay	Nikola Pilić	6–3, 6–3, 6–0
30.	1973	Rome, Italy (2)	Clay	Manuel Orantes	6–1, 6–1, 6–1
31.	1973	Queen's Club, London	Grass	Roger Taylor	9–8, 6–3
32.	1973	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Roy Emerson	6–4, 6–3, 6–3
33.	1973	Cincinnati, US	Clay	Manuel Orantes	5–7, 6–3, 6–4
34.	1973	Torneo Godó-Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Manuel Orantes	2–6, 6–1, 8–6, 6–4
35.	1973	Paris, France	Hard (i)	Stan Smith	4–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–0, 6–2
36.	1973	Tennis Masters Cup, Boston (3)	Carpet (i)	Tom Okker	6–3, 7–5, 4–6, 6–3
37.	1974	Richmond, US	Carpet	Tom Gorman	6–2, 6–3
38.	1974	Washington WCT, US	Carpet (i)	Tom Okker	6–3, 6–3
39.	1974	Bournemouth, UK	Clay	Paolo Bertolucci	6–1, 6–3, 6–0
40.	1974	Cedar Grove, US	Hard (i)	Juan Gisbert Sr.	6–4, 7–6
41.	1974	Madrid, Spain (3)	Clay	Björn Borg	6–4, 5–7, 6–2, 4–6, 6–4
42.	1974	Torneo Godó-Barcelona, Spain (2)	Clay	Manuel Orantes	8–6, 9–7, 6–3
43.	1975	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Juan Gisbert Sr.	6–1, 7–5, 6–2
44.	1975	Valencia, Spain	Clay	Manuel Orantes	6–3, 6–0
45.	1975	Madrid, Spain (4)	Clay	Manuel Orantes	7–6, 6–1, 2–6, 6–3
46.	1975	South Orange, US	Clay	Bob Hewitt	7–6, 6–1
47.	1975	Tennis Masters Cup, Stockholm (4)	Hard (i)	Björn Borg	6–2, 6–2, 6–1
48.	1976	Atlanta WCT, US	Carpet (i)	Jeff Borowiak	6–2, 6–4
49.	1976	Salisbury, US	Carpet (i)	Jimmy Connors	6–2, 6–3, 7–6
50.	1976	La Costa, US	Hard	Jimmy Connors	4–6, 6–0, 6–1
51.	1976	Pepsi Grand Slam, Myrtle Beach	Clay	Manuel Orantes	6–4, 6–3
52.	1976	Honolulu Challenge Cup	Hard	Arthur Ashe	6–3, 1–6, 6–7, 6–3, 6–1
53.	1976	South Orange, US	Clay	Roscoe Tanner	6–4, 6–2
54.	1977	Mexico City WCT, Mexico	Hard	Wojtek Fibak	4–6, 6–2, 7–6
55.	1977	Aix en Provence, France	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	6–1, 7–5, ret.
56.	1977	Las Vegas Challenge Cup, US	Hard	Jimmy Connors	3–6, 7–6, 6–4, 7–5
57.	1978	Miami, US	Carpet (i)	Tom Gullikson	6–3, 7–5
58.	1978	Montego Bay Challenge Cup, Jamaica	Hard	Peter Fleming	2–6, 5–6, 6–2, 6–4, 6–4

Singles runners-up (38)

No.	Year	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
1.	1969	Stockholm, Sweden	Hard (i)	Nikola Pilić	4–6, 6–4, 1–6
2.	1970	Brussels, Belgium	Clay	Tom Okker	3–6, 4–6, 6–0, 6–4, 4–6
3.	1970	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	Tom Okker	6–4, 3–6, 3–6, 4–6
4.	1971	Macon, U.S.	Hard	Željko Franulović	4–6, 5–7, 7–5, 6–3, 6–7
5.	1971	French Open, Paris	Clay	Jan Kodeš	6–8, 2–6, 6–2, 5–7
6.	1971	Brussels, Belgium	Clay	Cliff Drysdale	0–6, 1–6, 5–7
7.	1971	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Clay	Željko Franulović	3–6, 6–7, 1–6
8.	1972	Salisbury, U.S.	Hard (i)	Stan Smith	7–5, 2–6, 3–6, 4–6
9.	1972	Hampton, U.S.	Hard (i)	Stan Smith	3–6, 2–6, 7–6, 4–6
10.	1972	Wimbledon, London	Grass	Stan Smith	6–4, 3–6, 3–6, 6–4, 5–7
11.	1972	Båstad, Sweden	Clay	Manuel Orantes	4–6, 3–6, 1–6
12.	1973	Hampton, U.S.	Hard (i)	Jimmy Connors	6–4, 3–6, 5–7, 3–6
13.	1973	Bournemouth, United Kingdom	Clay	Adriano Panatta	8–6, 5–7, 3–6
14.	1973	London	Carpet	Tom Okker	3–6, 4–6
15.	1974	Toronto WCT, Canada	Carpet	Tom Okker	3–6, 4–6
16.	1974	Hampton, U.S.	Carpet	Jimmy Connors	4–6, 4–6
17.	1974	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Andrew Pattison	7–5, 3–6, 4–6
18.	1974	Rome, Italy	Clay	Björn Borg	3–6, 4–6, 2–6
19.	1974	Tennis Masters Cup, Melbourne	Grass	Guillermo Vilas	6–7, 2–6, 6–3, 6–3, 4–6
20.	1975	Basel, Switzerland	Carpet	Jiří Hřebec	1–6, 6–7, 6–2, 4–6
21.	1975	Tucson, U.S.	Hard	John Alexander	5–7, 2–6
22.	1975	Louisville, U.S.	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	4–6, 3–6
23.	1975	Montreal, Canada	Hard	Manuel Orantes	6–7, 0–6, 1–6
24.	1976	Baltimore, U.S.	Carpet	Tom Gorman	5–7, 3–6
25.	1976	Hampton, U.S.	Carpet	Jimmy Connors	2–6, 2–6, 2–6
26.	1976	Caracas WCT, Venezuela	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	3–6, 4–6
27.	1976	Stockholm WCT, Sweden	Carpet	Wojtek Fibak	4–6, 6–7
28.	1976	Nottingham, U.K.	Grass	Jimmy Connors	Match abandoned due to rain
29.	1976	Wimbledon, London	Grass	Björn Borg	4–6, 2–6, 7–9
30.	1976	Hong Kong	Hard	Ken Rosewall	3–6, 3–6
31.	1977	Rotterdam, Netherlands	Carpet	Dick Stockton	6–2, 3–6, 3–6
32.	1977	Virginia Beach, U.S.	Hard	Guillermo Vilas	2–6, 6–4, 2–6
33.	1978	Houston WCT, U.S.	Clay	Brian Gottfried	6–3, 2–6, 1–6
34.	1978	Forest Hills WCT, U.S.	Clay	Vitas Gerulaitis	2–6, 0–6
35.	1978	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Balázs Taróczy	6–1, 5–7, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6
36.	1979	Cleveland, U.S.	Hard	Stan Smith	6–7, 5–7
37.	1981	Nancy, France	Hard (i)	Pavel Složil	2–6, 5–7
38.	1981	Bologna, Italy	Carpet	Sandy Mayer	5–7, 3–6

Sources for this section

• Michel Sutter, Vainqueurs Winners 1946–2003, Paris, 2003. Sutter has attempted to list all tournaments meeting his criteria for selection beginning with 1946 and ending in the fall of 1991. For each tournament, he has indicated the city, the date of the final, the winner, the runner-up, and the score of the final. A tournament is included in his list if: (1) the draw for the tournament included at least eight players (with a few exceptions, such as the Pepsi Grand Slam tournaments in the second half of the 1970s); and (2) the level of the tournaments was at least equal to the present day challenger tournaments. Sutter's book is probably the most exhaustive source of tennis tournament information since World War II, even though some professional tournaments held before the start of the open era are missing. Later, Sutter issued a second edition of his book, with only the players, their wins, and years from 1946 to 27 April 2003, period.
• John Barrett, editor, World of Tennis Yearbooks, London, from 1976 to 1983.
• Joe McCauley in Mr Nastase: The Autobiography, by Ilie Năstase with Debbie Beckerman, 2004.
• 1982 WCT Yearbook
• ATP Official Guide to Professional Tennis 2004 (page G18).

Other titles (28)

Here are Năstase's tournament wins that are not included in the statistics on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) website. The website is very incomplete from 1968 to 1970 and has some omissions for tournaments held since 1968.

Năstase won several tournaments during the early years of his career that were equivalent to the present day "challenger" tournaments. Because the term "challenger" started to be applied to second-rank tournaments in 1978, those tournaments are termed "minor tournaments" in the following list.

• 1967 – Cannes (minor tournament), Travemünde (minor tournament)
• 1968 – Viareggio, Bucharest (minor tournament)
• 1969 – Madras (minor tournament), New Delhi (minor tournament), Gauhati (minor tournament), Travemünde, La Corogne, Budapest, Denver
• 1970 – Napoli, Ancona
• 1971 – Omaha, Istanbul
• 1973 – Istanbul, Kingston
• 1974 – Portland, World Invitational Tennis Classic (WITC) at Hilton Head (four-man invitational tournament, not to be confused with the CBS Classic tournament also played at Hilton Head)
• 1975 – WITC at Hilton Head (four-man invitational tournament), Helsinki, Dutch Round Robin (Utrecht Netherlands), Graz, Uppsala
• 1976 – Caracas (a four-man invitation tournament in October, not to be confused with the Caracas WCT in March that was won by Raúl Ramírez), Argentine Round Robin (invitational tournament)
• 1977 – Rotterdam World Star (invitational tournament)
• 1978 – Frankfurt (invitational tournament)

Doubles ATP titles (45)

No.	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
1.	1970	Philadelphia WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Ion Țiriac	Arthur Ashe Dennis Ralston	6–4, 6–3
2.	1970	French Open, Paris	Clay	Ion Țiriac	Arthur Ashe Charlie Pasarell	6–2, 6–4, 6–3
3.	1970	Rome, Italy	Clay	Ion Țiriac	William Bowrey Owen Davidson	0–6, 10–8, 6–3, 6–8, 6–1
4.	1970	Cincinnati, U.S.	Clay	Ion Țiriac	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan	6–3, 6–4
5.	1971	Hampton, U.S.	Hard (i)	Ion Țiriac	Clark Graebner Thomaz Koch	6–4, 4–6, 7–5
6.	1971	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Ion Țiriac	Tom Okker Roger Taylor	1–6, 6–3, 6–3, 8–6
7.	1971	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Clay	Željko Franulović	Patricio Cornejo Jaime Fillol	6–4, 6–4
8.	1972	Kansas City, U.S.	Indoor	Ion Țiriac	Andrés Gimeno Manuel Orantes	6–7, 6–4, 7–6
9.	1972	Hampton, U.S.	Hard (i)	Ion Țiriac	Andrés Gimeno Manuel Orantes	6–4, 7–6
10.	1972	Madrid, Spain	Clay	Stan Smith	Andrés Gimeno Manuel Orantes	6–2, 6–2
11.	1972	Rome, Italy	Clay	Ion Țiriac	Lew Hoad Frew McMillan	3–6, 3–6, 6–4, 6–3, 5–3, RET.
12.	1972	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	Jan Kodeš	Bob Hewitt Ion Țiriac	4–6, 6–0, 3–6, 6–2, 6–2
13.	1972	Montreal, Canada	Clay	Ion Țiriac	Jan Kodeš Jan Kukal	7–6, 6–3
14.	1973	Salisbury, U.S.	Hard (i)	Clark Graebner	Jürgen Fassbender Juan Gisbert	6–2, 6–4
15.	1973	Calgary, Canada	Indoor	Mike Estep	Szabolcz Baranyi Péter Szőke	7–6, 6–3
16.	1973	Hampton, U.S.	Hard (i)	Clark Graebner	Jimmy Connors Ion Țiriac	6–2, 6–1
17.	1973	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Juan Gisbert	Georges Goven Patrick Proisy	6–4, 5–7, 6–4
18.	1973	Wimbledon, London	Grass	Jimmy Connors	John Cooper Neale Fraser	3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 8–9, 6–1
19.	1973	South Orange, U.S.	Hard	Jimmy Connors	Richard Pancho Gonzales Tom Gorman	6–7, 6–3, 6–2
20.	1973	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Tom Okker	Antonio Muñoz Manuel Orantes	4–6, 6–3, 6–2
21.	1973	Madrid, Spain	Clay	Tom Okker	Bob Carmichael Frew McMillan	2–6, 6–3, 7–5
22.	1973	Paris, France	Hard (i)	Juan Gisbert	Arthur Ashe Roscoe Tanner	6–3, 6–4
23.	1973	Stockholm, Sweden	Hard (i)	Jimmy Connors	Bob Carmichael Frew McMillan	7–6, 7–5
24.	1974	Bournemouth, England	Clay	Juan Gisbert	Corrado Barazzutti Paolo Bertolucci	6–2, 7–5
25.	1974	Indianapolis, U.S.	Clay	Jimmy Connors	Jürgen Fassbender Hans-Jürgen Pohmann	6–7, 6–3, 6–4
26.	1974	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Juan Gisbert	Manuel Orantes Guillermo Vilas	3–6, 6–0, 6–2
27.	1974	London, England	Carpet	Jimmy Connors	Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez	3–6, 7–6, 6–3
28.	1975	Salisbury, U.S.	Carpet	Jimmy Connors	Jan Kodeš Roger Taylor	4–6, 6–3, 6–3
29.	1975	South Orange, U.S.	Clay	Jimmy Connors	Dick Crealy John Lloyd	7–6, 7–5
30.	1975	US Open, New York	Clay	Jimmy Connors	Tom Okker Marty Riessen	6–4, 6–4
31.	1975	Madrid, Spain	Clay	Jan Kodeš	Juan Gisbert Manuel Orantes	7–6, 4–6, 9–7
32.	1976	Stockholm WCT, Sweden	Carpet	Alex Metreveli	Tom Okker Adriano Panatta	6–4, 7–5
33.	1977	St. Louis WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Adriano Panatta	Vijay Amritraj Dick Stockton	6–4, 3–6, 7–6
34.	1977	London WCT, England	Hard (i)	Adriano Panatta	Mark Cox Eddie Dibbs	7–6, 6–7, 6–3
35.	1977	Houston WCT, U.S.	Hard	Adriano Panatta	John Alexander Phil Dent	6–3, 6–4
36.	1977	Aix-en-Provence, France	Clay	Ion Țiriac	Patrice Dominguez Rolf Norberg	7–5, 7–6
37.	1979	Sarasota, U.S.	Carpet	Steve Krulevitz	John James Keith Richardson	7–6, 6–3
38.	1979	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Victor Pecci Balázs Taróczy	6–3, 6–4
39.	1979	Cincinnati, U.S.	Hard	Brian Gottfried	Robert Lutz Stan Smith	1–6, 6–3, 7–6
40.	1979	Atlanta, U.S.	Hard	Raymond Moore	Steve Docherty Eliot Teltscher	6–4, 6–2
41.	1979	Tel Aviv, Israel	Hard	Tom Okker	Mike Cahill Colin Dibley	7–5, 6–4
42.	1981	Nancy, France	Hard (i)	Adriano Panatta	John Feaver Jiří Hřebec	6–4, 2–6, 6–4
43.	1981	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	José Luis Clerc	Markus Günthardt Pavel Složil	7–6, 6–7, 7–6
44.	1981	Paris, France	Hard (i)	Yannick Noah	Andrew Jarrett Jonathan Smith	6–4, 6–4
45.	1985	Tel Aviv, Israel	Hard	Brad Gilbert	Michael Robertson Florin Segărceanu	6–3, 6–2

See also

• Tennis male players statistics

References

1. "ATP Legends profiles – Ilie Nastase".
2. "Octagon > Athletes & Personalities > Ilie Nastase". Octagon-uk.com. 19 July 1946. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
3. Ilie Nastase "Bucharest Bufoon" at the Wayback Machine (archived 22 December 2007). tennisfame.com
4. Siegel, Alan (September 8, 2010). "Roger Federer and the History of Tennis Trick Shots". The Atlantic. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
5. "Nastase embodies an era with a touch of class". The Independent (London). 28 June 2003. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
6. "France honours beloved Nastase". Retrieved 12 April 2009.
7. Jim Sarni (24 August 1986). "Nastase Aces Novel Of Tennis Break Point.". SunSentinel.
8. Robert Sullivan (9 November 1987). "A Tennis Tale With Faults". Sports Illustrated.
9. Jane Perlez (11 March 1996). "Ilie Nastase, Bad Boy of Tennis, Runs Hard to Take Over Bucharest CityHall". The New York Times.
10. (Romanian) Parliamentary profile
11. "LE-A IUBIT ŞI LE-A FERICIT! ELE AU FOST MIRESELE LUI ILIE NĂSTASE!language=Romanian". Retrieved 9 March 2014.
12. "Ilie Năstase şi Brigitte Sfăt s-au casatorit. Țiriac: Spune ce vrei, dar să nu mă chemi la divorţ, pentru că nu vin !" (in Romanian). Retrieved 9 March 2014.
13. "Sheen Only No. 2 on 'Living Sex Legends' List". Zap2it.com. 30 May 2006. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
14. "Michael Palin meets Ilie Nastase " o’connors o’pinions". Seahorse-design.com. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
15. Alastair McKay (1 February 2006) Ilie Nastase, the Romanian George Best, based on an Interview with Ilie Năstase during the 2004 promotional tour for his autobiography.
16. "Tournament History". Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Retrieved 20 February 2012.

Further reading

• Mr Nastase: The Autobiography. HarperCollins UK. 2005. ISBN 0-00-717839-5.
• Evans, Richard I. (1978). Nastase. Henley-on-Thames: A. Ellis. ISBN 0-85628-058-5.

External links

• Official website
• Ilie Năstase at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
• Ilie Năstase at the International Tennis Federation
• Ilie Năstase at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Ilie Năstase at the Davis Cup