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54-464: The Livingston Open is a defunct, Grand Prix tennis affiliated men's tennis tournament. It was played from 1984 to 1989, held in Livingston, New Jersey and played on outdoor hard courts at Newark Academy . American Brad Gilbert won the singles title on three occasions, while fellow countryman Johan Kriek won it twice and Andre Agassi won it once. Grand Prix tennis circuit Before

108-648: A Belgian fashion model, whom he wed at the age of 26 and whom he was married to for 10 years, and with whom he has a daughter, Nathalie. 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 in 2010, he married Romanian fashion model Brigitte Sfăt in 2013; their marriage ended in 2018. In 2019, he married Ioana Simion. Maxim has placed Năstase at number 6 on its "Living Sex Legends" list, as he

162-446: 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. 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. According to The Independent , Năstase

216-504: A guarantee. The manipulation of Grand Slam tournaments by professional promoters at the start of the Open Era led promoter Jack Kramer, the top male tennis player in the world in the 1940s and 1950s, to conceive of the Grand Prix in 1969. He described it as "a series of tournaments with a money bonus pool that would be split up on the basis of a cumulative point system." This would encourage

270-613: A panel of journalists had ranked the best players in the world. The best thirty-two men based on this ranking were invited to play the 1971 WCT circuit, which included Ilie Năstase , Stan Smith , Jan Kodeš , Željko Franulović , and Clark Graebner . The Australian Open was part of the WCT circuit while the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open were Grand Prix events. The conflict between the ILTF (running

324-497: A serving captain, he was under orders from the Romanian army and government to compete and thus could not boycott the tournament. Some contemporary press speculation and later biographies have suggested Năstase contrived to lose his fourth-round match to American Sandy Mayer , but to have lost any earlier to a considerably less able player would have been too obvious. Năstase never has commented publicly on this speculation. In 1974, he

378-511: A statement on social media branding the comments about her unborn child as racist, noting that it saddened her that we live in a society where these comments can be made. Năstase then apologised on social media regarding the comments he made about Williams, but made comments about Konta speaking to the umpire which upset him. In a further interview with the BBC, Năstase justified his comments to Konta, stating that he only abused her after being ejected from

432-552: Is best remembered for being one of the better players never to win the singles title at Wimbledon, for his tantrums, and his good looks. Năstase has published two novels and at least one autobiography. He holds the rank of major general in the Romanian military . He entered Romanian politics in 1995, joining the Social Democracy Party of Romania and making an unsuccessful run for mayor of Bucharest in 1996 . Elected to

486-470: Is reputed to have slept with over 2,500 women. Năstase's own estimate of 800 to 900 was too low for the writer of his biography who wanted a larger number to improve his reputation. 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

540-491: The 1972 US Open where they agreed to form their own syndicate, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), through the efforts of Jack Kramer, Donald Dell , and Cliff Drysdale. In 1973, there were four rival professional circuits: the WCT circuit battled with the U. S. Indoor Circuit from January to April and the Grand Prix until July; both tours competed with the "European Spring Circuit" until June. In that same year,

594-517: The Masters Grand Prix final in 1975 , where he defeated Björn Borg in three straight sets. 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

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648-630: The Open Era , popular professional tennis players, such as Suzanne Lenglen and Vincent Richards , were contracted to professional promoters. Amateur players were under the jurisdiction of their national (and international) federations. Later professional promoters, such as Bill Tilden and Jack Kramer , often convinced leading amateurs like Pancho Gonzales and Rod Laver to join their tours with promises of good prize money. But these successes led to financial difficulties when players were paid too much and falling attendances resulted in reduced takings. In

702-720: The Romanian Senate for a Bucharest seat in 2012 , he initially sat for the Conservative Party (PC), then subsequently switching to the National Union for the Progress of Romania (UNPR) in July 2015 after the former party ceased to exist. He left the UNPR in 2016, after it merged with the People's Movement Party . Năstase has been married five times: his first wife was Dominique Grazia,

756-429: The advantage court , "like a master speaks to a naughty schoolboy." (Năstase has also said Shales asked him to pick up a piece of paper that had blown onto the court, saying, "Năstase, pick up that paper." ) Năstase angrily replied "You call me Mr. Năstase!". Since this incident, umpires have always used a courtesy title when addressing the players directly. Mr. Nastase later became the title of his autobiography. He

810-620: The "Tennis Masters Series" until 2004, then the "ATP Masters Series" until 2009. They are now called the ATP Masters 1000 tournaments . Grand Prix tournaments below this level were originally called the Grand Prix Super Series . They were retained by the ATP and renamed as the " Championship Series ". All remaining Grand Prix Tour events became part of the " World Series ". Based on USLTA Tennis Yearbooks and Guides and World of Tennis yearbooks

864-492: The ATP banned the use of such racquets. During the US Open in 1979, Năstase was defaulted from his match against John McEnroe . The umpire previously docked Năstase a point in third set and then a game in the fourth for arguing and stalling. A near-riot followed as the crowd disagreed with the umpire's decision, throwing beer cans and cups on court. The match was restarted, with the umpire being replaced, before McEnroe won. In 1994 Năstase, Davis Cup captain of his country,

918-476: The ATP created controversy by calling for a boycott of the 1973 Wimbledon Championships after one of its members, Niki Pilić, was suspended by the Yugoslav Tennis Federation for failing to play in a Davis Cup tie against New Zealand. The ATP boycott went ahead after negotiations failed, with only three members of the organisation – Roger Taylor, Ilie Năstase, and Ray Keldie – breaking

972-614: 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 the French Open and at Wimbledon (losing to Borg), and participated in the WCT Finals. During his quarterfinal match at Wimbledon Năstase had a row with umpire Jeremy Shales. Shales called him "Năstase" when asking him to move to

1026-481: The French Open, a doubles title at Wimbledon, and a third Masters title. He was the world No. 1 in the ATP rankings that year. He also won the 'Martini and Rossi' Award, voted for by a panel of journalists and was ranked No. 1 by an international poll of 17 tennis writers, Tennis Magazine (U.S.) , Bud Collins, Rino Tommasi and Rex Bellamy. In the Davis Cup, he won seven of eight singles rubbers. In matches against

1080-493: 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, finishing in front of Stan Smith in a round robin competition. In 1972, he became the No. 2 in the world, owing to his winning the US Open in a five-set final over Ashe. This tournament was the only event of

1134-599: The Grand Prix circuit, on an experimental basis during its first year. The first World Championship Tennis tournament was held 20 January 1968 in Sydney, Australia. The first NTL tournament was held 18–21 March 1968 in São Paulo, Brazil. In July 1970, the WCT absorbed the NTL. In 1971, WCT ran a twenty-tournament circuit with the year-ending WCT Finals held in November. At the end of 1970,

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1188-524: The Grand Prix points system – to January for the 1987 edition so that the Grand Prix Masters could be held in December from 1986 onwards. It failed, however, to prevent the number of tournaments on the Grand Prix circuit from growing, with 48 being held in 1974 compared to 75 in 1989. The WCT and Grand Prix circuits were separate until 1978, when the Grand Prix circuit integrated the WCT circuit. In 1982,

1242-538: The Grand Prix was led by the Men's International Professional Tennis Council (MIPTC) from 1974 through 1989. (Its name was shortened to the Men's Tennis Council (MTC) in 1988.) The MIPTC's duties included imposing fines for violations of its Code of Conduct, drug testing, and administrating the Grand Prix circuit. It also moved the Australian Open from its December date – which had been adopted in 1977 so that it could be included in

1296-455: The Grand Prix) and WCT was so strong that Rosewall, Gimeno, Laver, Emerson, and other WCT players boycotted the 1971 US Open . The third professional circuit that year was the U. S. Indoor Circuit run by Bill Riordan , the future manager of Jimmy Connors . In July 1971, the ILTF voted to ban all WCT contract professionals from competing in ILTF tournaments and from using ILTF facilities from

1350-553: The ITF carried out its investigation. Allegations of inappropriate behaviour included Pam Shriver claiming Năstase frequently asked in a joking manner if she was still a virgin. After about 30 occasions of this happening, Shriver asked him to stop asking that, which he did. Dominique Monami , captain of the Belgium team, then mentioned that Năstase had abused her in the round before the match with Great Britain. Monami later added that Năstase

1404-645: The MTC over the organisation of the Grand Prix and key issues such as player fatigue. During this press conference, the ATP declared that it would be starting its own tour in 1990, meaning that the 1989 Grand Prix would effectively be its last. The final event of the Grand Prix was the Nabisco Masters Doubles held at the Royal Albert Hall 6–10 December 1989. Its last champions were Jim Grabb and Patrick McEnroe , who beat John Fitzgerald and Anders Järryd in

1458-405: The WCT circuit split from the Grand Prix again and created a more complex WCT ranking, similar to the ATP ranking. The split was short-lived, however, and in 1985 the Grand Prix absorbed the four remaining WCT tournaments. During the 1988 US Open the ATP, led by then-World No. 1 Mats Wilander , staged an impromptu meeting known as the "Parking Lot Press Conference" during failed negotiations with

1512-565: The beginning of 1972 onwards. The 1972 editions of the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships excluded all contract professional players. Then in April 1972, the ILTF and WCT agreed to divide the 1973 tour into a WCT circuit that ran from January through May and a Grand Prix circuit that ran for the rest of the year. The conflict between the ILTF and WCT led all tennis players to attend

1566-554: The best players came under contract to one of two professional tours: When the Open Era began in 1968, tournaments often found themselves deprived of NTL or WCT players. The first open tournament, the British Hard Court Championships at Bournemouth , was played without WCT players, as was that year's French Open. In 1970, NTL players did not play in the Australian Open because their organization did not receive

1620-686: 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 Tony 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

1674-481: The best players to compete regularly in the series, so that they could share in the bonus at the end and qualify for the special championship tournament climaxing the year. When only a few contract players showed up for the 1970 French Open , the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) approved Kramer's Grand Prix proposal. In April 1970, its president Ben Barnett announced the creation of

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1728-644: The chairman of the Wimbledon Championships . In 1967, David announced that a professional tournament would be held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club after the 1967 Wimbledon Championships . This tournament was televised by the BBC and built public support for professional tennis. In late 1967, the best of the amateur players turned professional, paving the way for the first open tournament. Some professionals were independent at this time, such as Lew Hoad , Luis Ayala , and Owen Davidson , but most of

1782-483: The court and did so as a fan rather than a captain. Năstase also said that he regretted his behaviour in the incident. Năstase was not invited to the 2017 French Open and Wimbledon following his suspension. The Madrid Open, however, invited Năstase to be part of the prizegiving ceremony, which was won by Romanian Simona Halep . This was a move that was deemed irresponsible by the WTA , which had revoked Năstase's privileges while

1836-507: The early 1960s, the professional tour began to fall apart. It survived only because the U.S. Pro Tennis Championships , having been unable to give prize money to its 1963 winner, received prize money from the First National Bank of Boston for its 1964 tournament. At the same time, the concept of "shamateurism" – amateur promoters paying players under the table to ensure they remained amateurs – had become apparent to Herman David ,

1890-499: The final. In 1990, the Association of Tennis Professionals , led by Hamilton Jordan , replaced the MTC as the sole governing body of men's professional tennis and the ATP Tour was born. The nine most prestigious Grand Prix tournaments became known as the "Championship Series Single Week" from 1990 through 1995. In 1996, Mercedes began sponsoring these series of events, renamed as the "Super 9" until 1999. In 2000, they became known as

1944-430: The history of sponsors is as follows: NB : All rankings were calculated using the Grand Prix points system and do not necessarily reflect the ATP rankings at the same time. Ilie N%C4%83stase Ilie Theodoriu Năstase ( Romanian pronunciation: [iˈli.e nəsˈtase] ; born 19 July 1946) is a Romanian former world No. 1 tennis player. He held

1998-408: The media centre to confront British journalists over the reporting of his comments the previous day. Năstase could only find Press Association tennis correspondent Eleanor Crook before launching into a tirade about the reporting. During the second rubber, after the crowd had been told to respect the players, he said to match umpire Andreas Egli: "It's not the opera, what's your fucking problem?" He

2052-420: The newly formed ATP withdrew its players from the tournament following the suspension by the ITF of Yugoslav Nikola Pilić , only three ATP players (Năstase, Roger Taylor and Ray Keldie ) defied the boycott and were fined by the ATP's disciplinary committee. Năstase was promoted to No. 1 seed for the players in the subsequently weakened field and publicly stated his support for the ATP action but insisted that as

2106-413: 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, 2010, 2017 and 2020), and he won the French Open (clay), Rome (clay) and Queen's Club (grass) in succession. Năstase was seeded No. 2 for Wimbledon , behind the defending champion Stan Smith. When

2160-414: The picket. They were later fined for this. The men's draws for that year were subsequently made up of second-string players, lucky losers, and older players such as Neale Fraser , who reached the final of the men's doubles with fellow Australian John Cooper . The draw also showcased future talents such as Björn Borg , Vijay Amritraj , Sandy Mayer , and John Lloyd amid record crowds. The governance of

2214-562: The same year. They divorced in February 2010, after six years of marriage. As he played for the Army's sports club Steaua , he was an employee of the Ministry of Defence . In 2010 he appeared in the "Be free" video of Smiley 's band Radio Killer alongside footballers Ioan Lupescu and Ousmane N'Doye . On 25 May 2018, Năstase was arrested twice within a six-hour span for drunk-driving and riding

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2268-445: The set entered a final set tie-break. Năstase was screaming at the umpire and making obscenities to the crowd. Pohmann had two match points but Năstase won and then screamed at Pohmann as the two approached the net. The British umpire George Armstrong refused to shake Năstase's hand as Ilie continued raving. Many thought Năstase should have been disqualified. Later, Năstase claimed the match should have been forfeited to him when Pohmann

2322-462: The site of any ITF event. When Năstase was ejected from the stadium he met Crook again and, separated by a large number of security guards, verbally attacked her. The next day, despite being banned from the venue, Năstase reappeared and went to have lunch in the onsite restaurant. He additionally sent flowers to the British team. On 21 July 2017, he was suspended by the ITF until 2021. Williams released

2376-422: The third and final set Năstase was furious at a photographer and hit a ball at him and swung his racket near him. The crowd were at fever pitch by this point. Then Pohmann began cramping badly in his leg. "Three times Pohmann went down on his cramped leg and three times he came back to fight Năstase to a standstill". With the aid of the tournament physician, who attended the leg, Pohmann saved three match points and

2430-430: The top singles spot from 23 August 1973 to 2 June 1974, and was the first man to hold the position on the computerized ATP rankings . Năstase is one of the 10 players in history who have won over 100 total ATP titles, with 64 in singles and 45 in doubles. Năstase won seven major 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. He

2484-504: The year in which all the best players participated. Two months before, at Wimbledon , Năstase narrowly lost to Stan Smith in an epic five-set final, one of the more exciting championship matches. 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 defeated Smith, winning his second consecutive Masters Grand Prix title. In 1973, Năstase won 17 tournaments, including

2538-471: Was abusive for two games during the match between Elise Mertens and Irina-Camelia Begu . Considered one of the most gifted tennis players in history, Năstase was noted for 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. One of the fastest players, he is remembered for his magnificent lobs and retrieves. Năstase could apply

2592-681: Was banned for an away match against Great Britain, for "'audible obscenities and constant abuse and intimidation of officials'" in a tie against South Africa. In 2017, while captaining his country's Fed Cup team against Great Britain, Năstase was overheard commenting about Serena Williams ' unborn child, and the then 71-year-old asked Britain's Fed Cup captain Anne Keothavong for her room number while posing for photographers. Năstase previously made unfounded comments about Williams allegedly doping. Before Great Britain and Romania began their two-day World Group play-off, Năstase allegedly stormed in to

2646-617: Was prevented from entering the French Open because he participated in World Team Tennis . In the second half of the year, third-seeded Năstase lost in straight sets 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

2700-527: Was still one of the 20 best players in 1978; at Wimbledon , he again reached the quarterfinals. Năstase retired from the tour in October 1985 at the age of 39 after playing in the Grand Prix de Tennis de Toulouse , but he did play the challenger tournament at Dijon in June 1988. In the second round of the 1976 US Open against Hans-Jürgen Pohmann , there were several controversial moments involving Năstase. At 5–5 in

2754-875: Was the first professional sports figure to sign an endorsement contract with Nike , doing so in 1972. Năstase wrote several novels in French in the 1980s, and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1991. At the beginning of his career in 1966, Năstase traveled around the world competing with Ion Țiriac . They represented Romania in the Davis Cup competition, being 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

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2808-508: Was the only player to qualify for both the WCT Finals and the Masters Grand Prix finals. 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

2862-600: Was ultimately ejected from the stadium for unsportsmanlike conduct . In a statement the International Tennis Federation (ITF) additionally confirmed that Năstase had his accreditation removed and would take no further part in the tie. The next day, the ITF provisionally suspended Năstase under the Fed Cup Regulations for a breach of the Fed Cup Welfare Policy, meaning that he was banned from

2916-478: Was unable to continue play immediately (he and Pohmann had to be separated in the clubhouse after the match). In October 1977 at the Raquette d'Or tournament, Năstase used a ' spaghetti string ' (double-strung) racket to end Guillermo Vilas 's 46-match winning streak. The racket was known for creating large amounts of top spin and unpredictable bounces. Vilas quit the match in protest of the racket. A few days later,

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