Bjorn, Adriano, Harold and Ilie

[gzhpcu]

Found this old clip...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7AeEhIY_rc

Gives you the feeling of being there....

[stotty]

Found this old clip...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7AeEhIY_rc

Gives you the feeling of being there....

Nice find. There's a lovely part at 7:05. Nastase ghosts in to the net and hits a low backhand volley. He loses the point, but it's his movement I miss and remember so well. Nastase was just the best mover on a tennis court you could ever imagine. He glides.

[gzhpcu]

I remember seeing Ilie Nastase playing on the old center court in Roland Garros in the mid-70's.

It was the first set and Nastase was having a hard time with Onny Parun's serve. Onny was in the top 20's at the time. What followed was classic Nastase: Onny had a rather strange serve motion, so Ilie started doing a parody of the serve when it was his turn to serve. The crowd began laughing, Onny started getting angry, he lost his focus, and Ilie turned the match around. And, oh yes, he often had histrionics with the umpire contesting ball calls, pointing at various ball marks on the court. This also made Onny lose his momentum. Funny - yes. Sportsmanlike behaviour - no.
But it is what the crowd liked. (McEnroe's tantrums, Connor's cock-of-the walk posing, etc...) Thank goodness we have less of that in today's tennis. See today's tennis is not all that bad.

[stotty]

I remember seeing Ilie Nastase playing on the old center court in Roland Garros in the mid-70's.

It was the first set and Nastase was having a hard time with Onny Parun's serve. Onny was in the top 20's at the time. What followed was classic Nastase: Onny had a rather strange serve motion, so Ilie started doing a parody of the serve when it was his turn to serve. The crowd began laughing, Onny started getting angry, he lost his focus, and Ilie turned the match around. And, oh yes, he often had histrionics with the umpire contesting ball calls, pointing at various ball marks on the court. This also made Onny lose his momentum. Funny - yes. Sportsmanlike behaviour - no.
But it is what the crowd liked. (McEnroe's tantrums, Connor's cock-of-the walk posing, etc...) Thank goodness we have less of that in today's tennis. See today's tennis is not all that bad.

Nastase was no angel that's for sure.

Funny you mentioned Onny Parun. I saw Nastase play Onny in their 1976 Wimbledon quarter-final. Nastase was ribbing Onny every time they changed ends, making fun of him. At a change of ends close to the end of the second set, Onny turned round to Illie and said "If you don't shut up I'm going to thump you". Onny meant it. Nastase never said another word.

Nastase was all mouth, a coward underneath. Onny was a tough New Zealander who didn't take prisoners.

We are both lucky to have seen Nasty play live. He was gifted, really exceptional. The way he could guide and caress a tennis ball was to me remarkable. The old clips are too poor quality and grainy to really display these qualities as they were. That's why those few "clear" seconds at 7:05 on the clip brought back such powerful memories for me..."that's" how he really was.

[worldsbesttenniscoach]

Phil, thanks for the clip of Nastase & other players.

The year that Texas's Sherwood Stewart upset Nastase in the 1st round of Wimbledon, soon thereafter these 2 players were slated to meet each other again in the 1st round of the Washington, D.C. tournament (then played on clay). That day in DC was brutally hot.

Nastase had in mind to kinda punish Stewart for Stewart's victory at Wimbledon. Stewart's strength was wilting in the DC heat. After one close point, Nastase, Stewart, & the umpire were arguing about a close call that had determined the point. Finally, Nastase realized that Nastase was so far ahead in this particular match, & that even if Stewart won this point, it meant that Stewart would have to stay out in the brutal sun for longer -- so Nastase gave in & offered the point to Stewart. Hilariously, Stewart realized he better shorten his stay in the outside sun as much as possible, so Stewart refused to take the point that Nastase offered him !!!

Also, my old great coach Peter Scott was thrilled to combine with another local player & compete in an exhibition against Nastase & Tiriac.

[gzhpcu]

Remember when Nastase played Vilas and broke his string of clay court victories using a spaghetti string racket? Vilas walked off the court, saying that Nastase and the spaghetti racket was just too much!

[stotty]

Remember when Nastase played Vilas and broke his string of clay court victories using a spaghetti string racket? Vilas walked off the court, saying that Nastase and the spaghetti racket was just too much!

Yes I remember it well. Nastase was becoming a spent force by then and the racket turned his fortunes around. Vilas was on a winning streak that may have gone on longer (though Borg had been involved in team tennis and Vilas had chosen his tournaments carefully). That racket was way ahead of it's time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e0oBcgF5qw