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We had never seen a player like this.

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00:00:46.439 --> 00:00:48.479
This fresh, young guy,

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and everybody was
talking about Ilie Năstase.

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I just... I was born like that.

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I cannot help it, I'm trying,
sometimes, but it's not me.

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Sometimes people want
more than just tennis.

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When Ilie was on the court,
there was always something happening.

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I think of him as this unfulfilled genius.

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What fascinated me the most

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was how he returned the balls.

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It was almost like a dance.

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That was the magic, you know,
he made you play his game.

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His life was very tumultuous in 1972.

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It was very, you know,
what's gonna happen next?

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You couldn't take your eyes
off the guy on the tennis court!

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The Wimbledon final, the US Open,
the great David Cup final in Bucharest,

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1972 was the key year for Năstase.

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Watching him was
like going to the theater.

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And I always felt Ilie...

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...wanted to be loved
by everyone, and we did love him.

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I think Năstase is one of
the great geniuses of our sport,

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one of the first stars of our sport.

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Ilie and Jimmy,
they kind of made tennis cool.

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00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:16.240 line:5%
And we were a couple of outlaws.

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We were. And we liked it!

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And at the time,
the tennis rules weren't as strict,

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so he could get away with a lot more
than anybody could today.

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But that's how it was.

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I think the reason he has millions of fans
all over the world is that personality.

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00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:36.000 line:5%
It's not that he prepared to do stuff,
it just came naturally.

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He'd say anything that popped
out of his mouth to linesmen,

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to the opponent, to anybody.

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I think part of the problem was

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tennis was really not ready
for Năstase when he began

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some of this histrionics on the court.

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For me, tennis was my life,
since I was 3-4 years old.

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I played for pleasure,
but if you add spirit and talent,

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start winning and become number one,
it's something, for sure.

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He was extremely shy,

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00:04:09.639 --> 00:04:13.439 line:5%
but, on the other hand,
he's always had this charisma.

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You just can't learn that.

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You either have it or you don't.

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Him coming from sort of a Communist
country, and people didn't know him,

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it was like wow, what's
this guy's story? This is crazy!

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He was such a curiosity because...

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Early on, he was winning
all these tournaments in Europe,

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and we in America
didn't really know who he was.

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And we didn't know
any Iron Curtain athletes.

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We saw now Eastern European
athletes match up to our own athletes.

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But Ilie, to his credit,
you know, he opened up that for us.

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The Soviets and others
produced many outstanding athletes.

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But tennis was a little bit
of a stepchild at that time.

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I don't think most Americans
had any idea where Romania was

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and what it was.

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Năstase really was the first big splash
of an Eastern European country.

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In 1969 Nixon came,

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in 1972 Romania joined the World Bank,

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so there was a pattern of trying to break
out from under the Soviet thumb.

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For once, please use
words instead of the ball.

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- Who wants to start?
- Ţiriac! He's older.

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Warm-up compliments, I see.
Let's warm up with some questions.

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Can you please decide
which of you will serve first?

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Ţiriac, he always
warms up faster than me.

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Fine, I'll start, or we'll never finish.

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I really understand
the Romanian sense of humor, I do.

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There's a different,
different kettle of worms,

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a different type of people,

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and you really either
get it or you don't get it.

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I don't think there was a serious word
ever spoken between Ion and Ilie,

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they just can't help themselves.

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They're brothers from a different mother.

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We know each other well.
We're close friends.

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We share a room at every championship,
each week, month, year...

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Ţiriac says he shares a room with me
more often than with his wife.

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00:07:06.040 --> 00:07:11.399 line:5%
When you travelled abroad,
you needed accommodation.

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Wimbledon, for example,
didn't provide a room.

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I said to Ilie: If we sleep
in a park, we can save two pounds.

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Two pounds a day
would buy us four pairs of sneakers,

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that we could sell in Bucharest.

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We were doing business,
not just flying around.

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Then our families could
get by another month.

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He was the brains,
telling me to go all-out or not,

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or do those defensive, high lobs
that landed right on the baseline.

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I think we complement
each other wonderfully.

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We understood each other.

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We each knew where to go,
how and why.

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Mr. Năstase was in another league.

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The rest of us should know our place.

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He won Grand Slam titles
with other players too,

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in doubles and mixed doubles.

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Năstase had been winning a lot,

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and the computer ranking,
the first one that came out,

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had him No. 1 in the world,
so no one can take that away from him.

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the first ATP-ranking world No. 1.

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We were watching every Monday
morning what our ranking was,

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and he was first.

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He was physically very fit,
very fast, could jump well.

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could slide well on the clay,

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but his main strength
was his feel for the ball.

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When people pay expensive tickets,

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they want to be mesmerized
by the action on the court.

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Ilie gave them that.

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- Mr. Ilie Năstase?
- Yes.

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Excuse me, may I...

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- How do you know me?
- How could I not?

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- You know the lady?
- I did gymnastics.

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Of course, Mrs. Comăneci!

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- The boy knows his stuff!
- May I?

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Sure.
You come over too!

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Look at the kid!

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They opened up tennis,
they showed it to the world.

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In many ways, they made
the journey easier for us,

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the players of today.

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There is character,
and there is charisma.

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Ilie Năstase, smolderingly handsome,

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and Ion Ţiriac,
rugged as some Ruthenian bandit.

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But it's Năstase
who sets the hearts aflutter.

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So Wimbledon's underway!

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For your first match,
this is probably where you'll start.

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Very interesting, playing on
these outside courts as a youngster.

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A lot of older people
never make the inside court.

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But if you're young and ambitious, this
is where you'll play your first matches.

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And you'll look way back
up there and see the scoreboard.

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The things that are going on
inside that center court...

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You'll probably just be a spectator,
watching what's going on.

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It was Romanian Ilie Năstase playing
Stan Smith in the Wimbledon finals.

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It was a big thing.

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And for me to be there, sitting,
watching Ilie play...

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I'll never forget that, because
that was starting, for me, to...

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I was dreaming, maybe one day
I'm gonna be on that center court.

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Maybe not in a final, but...

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I want to be there.

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This is the biggest thing you can do.

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So I was sitting, enjoying,
and of course I was rooting for Ilie.

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You know, Nasty was great
on every surface, particularly on clay,

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but he became
a very good grass court player,

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his serve was more effective on grass
and he could move really well,

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so he became a very good
grass court player.

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I was clueless.

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How do you slide?
The court wouldn't let me slide.

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I was used to clay,
which lets you skid around.

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On grass, you hop around.

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It threatens to be one Sabbath day
which isn't too holy.

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It's almost where we came in.

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If Năstase were a violinist,

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you'd feel sure he'd take
the name of Stradivarius in vain.

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But his choice
of serving racket now is vital!

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Dan, if I can tell you what's happening...

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Năstase realizes he's got too tight
a racket for these heavy conditions.

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Advantage Smith!

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For the second successive year,

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Wimbledon is to be graced
with a 5-set final of Olympian scale.

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Advantage Smith!

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So, for the fourth time,
Smith has championship point.

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It was the last shot of Wimbledon '72,

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and Stanley Smith is informally crowned
the new champion.

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But Ilie Năstase will not be
a forgotten finalist.

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He brought to Wimbledon
an arduous temperament

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and revealed a talent
many thought beyond him.

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He was always exciting.

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He missed that shot and I didn't really
realise, for a second, that it was over,

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then I threw my racket about
40 feet in the air, jumped over the net.

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He was disappointed, obviously.

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So people would ask me,
was it difficult to play against him?

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Because Nasty was
controversial a lot of times.

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But in that match he wasn't, he was just
complaining about his racket strength.

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And it just didn't work out for him,

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but I think it was not just lack
of preparedness, but nerves, I think he...

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He didn't handle the pressure well,
and when it got close near the end,

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he didn't quite have
the nerve to pull it off.

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Năstase, will you come here, please?

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First of all...

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Don't call me Năstase!

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- You call me Mr. Năstase!
- Mr. Năstase!

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That's better! Yes!

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- Mister Năstase.
- Yes, Sir!

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I'm reporting you for delaying.

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I'm reporting you to the referee,
you call me Năstase.

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Call me Mister!

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Let's play nice, I tell the guy.

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You don't want trouble from me,
you know I'm crazy.

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From now on,
I'm Mr. Năstase to you.

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So the match starts.
Borg on the serve.

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Love-15, Mr. Năstase!

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Let's not overdo it,
only call me Mr. for the games!

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The Năstase phenomenon
did not begin with Ilie.

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It began, though at a much smaller scale,

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with Costică Năstase, his older brother.

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Costică Năstase,
he beat him all the time,

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but it helped him a lot,

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having Costică and myself in the team.

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Costică... what a hard worker,
what an amazing character.

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I always said, if he had had
10% of Ilie's talent,

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he'd have been a world champion.

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Costică was 13 years older than me.

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The house was full of tennis rackets
and dirty tennis shoes.

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I had the equipment.

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It made you want to play.

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I was living in the tennis club.

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My house was
just inside of the tennis club.

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And every time I was going home
from school,

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or going to school,
I would pass the tennis club on my way.

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Our house was between a tennis court
and a football stadium.

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When I was five, I got out of the house
with a football and a tennis racket.

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I walked around the stadium
kicking the ball and swinging the racket.

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They were both in my head,
I didn't know which one to choose.

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Like everybody in Europe, I was
interested in soccer more than tennis.

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Why didn't you become
a football player, then?

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Well, when I was 13 or 14,

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I won my first tournament in tennis
and they gave me a brand new racket,

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which was something
unbelievable for me at that age.

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Just because of that racket, maybe,

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00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:06.839
I switched completely
from soccer to tennis.

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The first time he put on ice skates,
I couldn't keep up.

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I wanted to teach him
skiing in Poiana Braşov,

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00:19:14.759 --> 00:19:16.880
and he skied down perfectly,

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00:19:16.880 --> 00:19:20.920
except he ran into the fence
because I hadn't taught him to stop.

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Definitely, because Ţiriac
was quite a few years older

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and he also came from another sport,

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a very good ice hockey player,
a very good sportsman.

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He knew all the tricks of the game, and
I think definitely Ilie learned from him.

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Năstase grew
by my side, I would say...

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00:19:45.079 --> 00:19:48.960
I saw him evolving in everything,
not only in tennis.

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It was very hard for me to get here,

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00:19:53.079 --> 00:19:56.200
it took at least 10-12 years.

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Others told me that
I met Ilie back in 1959,

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apparently he was my ball boy.

230
00:20:06.200 --> 00:20:07.680
I don't remember that.

231
00:20:08.039 --> 00:20:12.359
I do remember seeing him
in Bucharest in the '60s,

232
00:20:12.359 --> 00:20:13.640
but he wasn't playing tennis.

233
00:20:13.640 --> 00:20:18.079
He was playing football with
some boys and kept hiding the ball.

234
00:20:18.079 --> 00:20:22.799
He must have weighed
30 kilos or something.

235
00:20:24.079 --> 00:20:26.759
At first, they only let me
bounce the ball against the wall.

236
00:20:27.079 --> 00:20:33.079
It was actually great training,
my racket was a piece of fence

237
00:20:33.599 --> 00:20:36.319
cut in the shape of a paddle-bat.

238
00:20:37.079 --> 00:20:40.240
If you did it wrong,
the ball didn't bounce back.

239
00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:42.039
You had to chase it.

240
00:20:42.039 --> 00:20:47.319
You had to really focus so you
could hit it a second and third time.

241
00:20:48.079 --> 00:20:50.839
That wall was good training for me.

242
00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:55.759
Besides, behind that wall
was the chocolate factory!

243
00:20:55.759 --> 00:20:58.920
Sometimes, the workers
would throw me some.

244
00:21:00.319 --> 00:21:03.720
I started to see more and more of Ilie.

245
00:21:03.720 --> 00:21:07.400
The Federation already
had their eye on him.

246
00:21:07.720 --> 00:21:09.599
So I sort of took him along.

247
00:21:10.039 --> 00:21:14.960
I was a great sportsman back then,
17 tournaments under my belt,

248
00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:17.640
in a position to negotiate my pay.

249
00:21:17.640 --> 00:21:24.000
I could say if you won't give me
a few lei extra for Ilie,

250
00:21:24.440 --> 00:21:25.680
I'm not coming.

251
00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:27.920
Ţiriac would tell the organizers:

252
00:21:28.519 --> 00:21:30.440
If I come to your tournament,

253
00:21:30.440 --> 00:21:33.079
Năstase and Mărmureanu
are coming too.

254
00:21:33.559 --> 00:21:34.799
He was the brains.

255
00:21:35.200 --> 00:21:40.119
He always got us contracts
with racket and shoe brands,

256
00:21:40.119 --> 00:21:42.759
with equipment providers.

257
00:21:42.759 --> 00:21:45.119
We were satisfied,
we got our equipment.

258
00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:49.240
Lately, your name
is connected with that of Ţiriac.

259
00:21:49.240 --> 00:21:53.319
Could you describe
your fellow sportsman?

260
00:21:56.359 --> 00:21:58.559
I've been playing with Ion for...

261
00:21:59.480 --> 00:22:01.039
...about eight years,

262
00:22:01.039 --> 00:22:05.880
and I can say I owe him my first
participation in a great tournament.

263
00:22:06.319 --> 00:22:11.720
He was famous,
I was just starting to become famous.

264
00:22:13.799 --> 00:22:17.839
When we started to pair for doubles,
it worked very well from the start.

265
00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:20.720
He was a wild child.

266
00:22:21.759 --> 00:22:25.960 line:5%
In 1966, we first played
in the Davis Cup against France.

267
00:22:26.359 --> 00:22:29.039 line:5%
We lost the doubles in five sets.

268
00:22:30.200 --> 00:22:33.240 line:5%
We lost it because of Năstase.

269
00:22:34.079 --> 00:22:36.599 line:5%
I still believe this, he may not agree.

270
00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:40.519 line:5%
It was the event that cemented
our doubles team.

271
00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:44.039 line:5%
We match each other's
qualities and faults.

272
00:22:46.440 --> 00:22:49.440
We played the finals here.
In 1966.

273
00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:51.720
Two Americans beat us in the finals.

274
00:22:52.039 --> 00:22:54.200
It was my first French Open.

275
00:22:54.759 --> 00:22:56.880
That is, my first time at the French Open.

276
00:22:57.400 --> 00:23:01.400
This afternoon at Roland-Garros, in
sunny weather, before 2.000 spectators,

277
00:23:01.400 --> 00:23:04.160
young Năstase proved
to be the best of the four,

278
00:23:04.160 --> 00:23:06.200
while his partner Ţiriac was the weakest.

279
00:23:06.200 --> 00:23:10.960
Ţiriac made constant disparaging
remarks about his young partner,

280
00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:12.799
who, however, played far better.

281
00:23:14.039 --> 00:23:18.079
He played a lot with Ion.
They made an amazing team.

282
00:23:18.440 --> 00:23:21.880
They were winning a lot.
They were very, very, very strong.

283
00:23:21.880 --> 00:23:26.559
Ion's game was very serious,
intelligent and all that,

284
00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:31.079 line:5%
Năstase flitted around, intercepted,
creative all the time.

285
00:23:31.960 --> 00:23:34.400
He couldn't do
anything stupid, because Ion...

286
00:23:36.319 --> 00:23:37.680
Would twist his neck.

287
00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:42.839
There were a couple of things
that made him stand out.

288
00:23:42.839 --> 00:23:44.319
You could almost call him a genius.

289
00:23:44.319 --> 00:23:47.720 line:5%
He was hitting shots that
nobody else could play at that time.

290
00:23:49.359 --> 00:23:52.400
Santana had introduced
the topspin lob off the back end,

291
00:23:52.400 --> 00:23:53.680
he took it to another level.

292
00:23:54.559 --> 00:23:57.119
Tennis was in a very, very...

293
00:23:57.799 --> 00:24:00.079
strong state of transition,

294
00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:03.880
at the time that Năstase
was on the scene.

295
00:24:04.880 --> 00:24:07.720
You have to keep in mind that in 1968

296
00:24:08.160 --> 00:24:13.160
tennis went from essentially
an amateur sport to the Open era.

297
00:24:13.160 --> 00:24:15.680
uniting amateurs and professionals.

298
00:24:15.680 --> 00:24:19.480
And that brought a whole new
element into the game, besides money.

299
00:24:19.960 --> 00:24:23.480 line:5%
It also brought prominence
to players who'd have been away.

300
00:24:23.799 --> 00:24:27.680
It also changed the emphasis
in terms of what was important,

301
00:24:27.680 --> 00:24:32.039
because now the game was open,
it was now a sort of free-for-all.

302
00:24:32.960 --> 00:24:36.319
Tennis was sort of a sport for the elite,

303
00:24:36.319 --> 00:24:39.720 line:5%
and when Năstase came along,
it became...

304
00:24:40.920 --> 00:24:43.279 line:5%
more exciting for the common man.

305
00:24:43.279 --> 00:24:47.160
It created emotion that
the average man could identify with.

306
00:24:52.960 --> 00:24:57.119
I find the tennis back then
more beautiful than the one now.

307
00:24:57.440 --> 00:25:00.000
The ball wasn't so fast,

308
00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:03.960
it gave you time
to see the elegance of it.

309
00:25:04.599 --> 00:25:06.720 line:5%
Năstase was highly artistic,

310
00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:09.480 line:5%
as well as highly aesthetical.

311
00:25:09.839 --> 00:25:14.359
Before him, all the players
were very humble and serious,

312
00:25:14.720 --> 00:25:18.559 line:5%
and Ilie combined all of that:
the beautiful game, the good looks,

313
00:25:18.880 --> 00:25:21.680
the interaction with the crowd,
he could speak Italian, so...

314
00:25:22.200 --> 00:25:26.319
All of that made him
an overnight rockstar, I think.

315
00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:31.200 line:5%
But I don't remember if there was
one player that was having as much fun

316
00:25:31.200 --> 00:25:33.640
and being as disruptive as Ilie was.

317
00:25:33.640 --> 00:25:36.720
I don't know where he got it,
I think it's a Romanian thing.

318
00:25:37.039 --> 00:25:39.359 line:5%
There was another guy
before him, Pancho Gonzáles,

319
00:25:40.240 --> 00:25:45.240
Pancho Gonzáles was amazing, I think
he, in some ways, was the first superstar

320
00:25:45.240 --> 00:25:47.519
before court tennis the way we know it,

321
00:25:47.519 --> 00:25:50.680
but Năstase definitely
was the superstar of our sport.

322
00:25:50.680 --> 00:25:53.119
He transcended our sport.

323
00:25:53.599 --> 00:25:56.640
People knew about him
whether they were into tennis or not.

324
00:26:00.759 --> 00:26:04.480
Insolent, elegant, angry,
whimsical, bon vivant,

325
00:26:04.880 --> 00:26:07.960
Ilie Năstase is more than
just a great tennis player.

326
00:26:08.319 --> 00:26:11.559
His personality makes him
the most courted champion

327
00:26:11.559 --> 00:26:13.240
of modern-day tennis.

328
00:26:13.240 --> 00:26:17.160
The success of a federation tournament
is built on his name.

329
00:26:17.160 --> 00:26:20.079
The năstase is the only tennis currency

330
00:26:20.079 --> 00:26:23.559
on par with the US dollar
of professional tennis.

331
00:26:25.559 --> 00:26:28.440
A daredevil on the court
and in real life,

332
00:26:28.799 --> 00:26:31.400
he is loved by some,
hated by others.

333
00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:35.480
He is certainly far removed
from the distinguished gentlemen

334
00:26:35.480 --> 00:26:37.720
who in 1920, at Wimbledon,

335
00:26:37.720 --> 00:26:42.079
between backhand shots,
bowed to the ladies in attendance.

336
00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:46.279
But Năstase is also not
akin to Pancho Gonzáles,

337
00:26:46.759 --> 00:26:50.480
the sportive expression
of the American consumerist society.

338
00:26:51.519 --> 00:26:53.200
He is something new from the East,

339
00:26:53.799 --> 00:26:56.200
a rebellious bohemian armed with a racket

340
00:26:56.200 --> 00:27:00.200
with which, when offended,
he deals vicious blows.

341
00:27:04.400 --> 00:27:08.359 line:5%
He could serve that way,
and the ball goes the other way.

342
00:27:08.759 --> 00:27:13.039
I've seen him do that, he goes backwards
and he serves and flicks his wrist back,

343
00:27:13.519 --> 00:27:16.359
it's almost impossible,
and the ball goes in.

344
00:27:16.680 --> 00:27:20.640
He has a fantastic wrist
and great control over the ball.

345
00:27:21.200 --> 00:27:24.680
I think he has more control over the ball
than himself, that was his problem.

346
00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:29.319
Because he was in fact
ahead of the game as to where it was,

347
00:27:29.319 --> 00:27:33.559
many people mistook
what his behaviour was on the court

348
00:27:33.559 --> 00:27:38.519
and these officials, the linesmen,
they were not prepared to accept

349
00:27:38.519 --> 00:27:41.119
what Năstase was bringing to the table,

350
00:27:41.119 --> 00:27:44.279
I don't think anybody
in the officialdom were prepared

351
00:27:44.279 --> 00:27:46.799
to help them understand
these players

352
00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:48.720
and what that behaviour was.

353
00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:54.279
Năstase, play on, please,
otherwise you are disqualified!

354
00:28:33.599 --> 00:28:37.720
People would say I never come to tennis,
I don't even know what it is,

355
00:28:37.720 --> 00:28:40.559
and yet, because of Năstase,
I'm coming out to watch.

356
00:28:49.000 --> 00:28:52.920
His match with Hans-Jürgen Pohmann
was the talk of the tennis world,

357
00:28:52.920 --> 00:28:54.799
during the first week at Forest Hills.

358
00:28:55.400 --> 00:28:58.160
Most considered it
the worst display of his career.

359
00:28:58.160 --> 00:29:00.799 line:5%
On the court, they say, he would losing it

360
00:29:00.799 --> 00:29:03.200 line:5%
and there were times
that it would get almost...

361
00:29:03.759 --> 00:29:08.079
Monster is a strong word, but there was
a very dark side that would come out.

362
00:29:09.519 --> 00:29:12.039
This is the first set.
The 6th point, the tie-breaker.

363
00:29:12.359 --> 00:29:13.960
This is when it all began.

364
00:29:14.279 --> 00:29:16.920
A shot by Năstase appeared
to have hit on the sideline.

365
00:29:16.920 --> 00:29:18.079
It was called out.

366
00:29:18.519 --> 00:29:21.279
It was on the line, the ball!

367
00:29:23.359 --> 00:29:25.680
Năstase's anger continues...

368
00:29:25.680 --> 00:29:29.079
Here comes a backhand
down the line, called good.

369
00:29:29.079 --> 00:29:31.200
This is by far
the longest delay of the match.

370
00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:34.240
The linesman
comes out to take a look.

371
00:29:34.799 --> 00:29:38.680
Now watch Năstase shout at him,
he uses bad language.

372
00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:42.160
More shouting, haranguing.

373
00:29:42.599 --> 00:29:45.759
He finally reaches over
and touches his arm, right there.

374
00:29:45.759 --> 00:29:48.079
Linesman says Hold it, the ball is good.

375
00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:50.319
He was wrong for two fucking balls!

376
00:29:55.880 --> 00:29:58.559
Pohmann's complaining about the delay,

377
00:29:59.160 --> 00:30:02.400
and now Ilie is complaining
about the linesman's calls.

378
00:30:07.480 --> 00:30:09.920
You're always on the edge
of your seat with Năstase.

379
00:30:10.920 --> 00:30:13.599
You're not sitting back and relaxing.

380
00:30:14.240 --> 00:30:16.559
He really brought the crowd in.

381
00:30:16.920 --> 00:30:20.039
Now Pohmann serving.
This is the first time he fell.

382
00:30:23.160 --> 00:30:24.519
He had leg cramps.

383
00:30:24.519 --> 00:30:25.559
Right here!

384
00:30:26.119 --> 00:30:28.759
The umpire thought he had
hurt himself badly,

385
00:30:28.759 --> 00:30:31.960
thought maybe he'd broken his leg,
you'll hear him call for a doctor.

386
00:30:32.880 --> 00:30:36.640
Pohmann refuses the doctor,
momentarily says I'm OK,

387
00:30:36.960 --> 00:30:38.400
wants to walk it off.

388
00:30:40.240 --> 00:30:42.519
Now here's a delay on Pohmann's part.

389
00:30:43.039 --> 00:30:46.359
The rules state you cannot get help
from a doctor for leg cramps.

390
00:30:46.359 --> 00:30:48.880
If you can't continue,
you're supposed to be defaulted.

391
00:30:52.400 --> 00:30:55.599
This is bad, he's saying:
Come on, play, play!

392
00:30:56.240 --> 00:30:58.039
Pohmann's in pain, but refuses to quit.

393
00:31:00.799 --> 00:31:03.400
He's down again!
This is the second time.

394
00:31:06.039 --> 00:31:09.599 line:5%
He definitely had
a way of riling things up.

395
00:31:09.599 --> 00:31:13.720 line:5%
I ballboyed at the Forest Hills
when he was playing,

396
00:31:13.720 --> 00:31:17.240 line:5%
for his match against Pohmann,
which was, like, a crazy match,

397
00:31:17.240 --> 00:31:21.160
and I was like
man, this guy's unbelievable!

398
00:31:21.640 --> 00:31:24.839
Unbelievably crazy!
But he sort of got away with it.

399
00:31:27.240 --> 00:31:31.039
Do you know the rules?
How many times he can stop the match?

400
00:31:31.440 --> 00:31:33.680
Twice he is down, the son of a bitch.

401
00:31:34.400 --> 00:31:36.599
Twice he is down!
Five minutes I waited!

402
00:31:39.960 --> 00:31:41.680
The crowd is angry with Năstase.

403
00:31:42.480 --> 00:31:46.319
Lady with thumbs down, and he
spits orange juice towards the crowd.

404
00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:11.519
Năstase is really upset.

405
00:32:12.480 --> 00:32:15.960
You know, Jack, if I were the umpire,
right now, I'd throw him out.

406
00:32:19.240 --> 00:32:21.880
When this is over,
the umpire and all the linespeople

407
00:32:21.880 --> 00:32:24.319
might go someplace
to have a nice quiet drink.

408
00:32:24.319 --> 00:32:26.880 line:5%
- Wouldn't you?
- I would think it'd be a double.

409
00:32:30.880 --> 00:32:32.519
Here's the winning volley.

410
00:32:32.880 --> 00:32:37.200
Now watch him yell, scream.
Now he spits in Pohmann's direction.

411
00:32:37.920 --> 00:32:40.119
Yells and throws the ball.

412
00:32:41.279 --> 00:32:45.680
Bad language. He wants to shake
the umpire's hand, umpire says no way.

413
00:32:50.160 --> 00:32:52.240
Now he comes back
to harangue Pohmann more.

414
00:32:52.240 --> 00:32:56.119
Your legs, your cramps?!
You were down twice.

415
00:32:56.440 --> 00:32:57.680
More bad language.

416
00:32:58.559 --> 00:33:00.480
Now you'll see him.
Another gesture.

417
00:33:00.480 --> 00:33:04.720
Now the doctor says to Năstase
Calm down, take it easy.

418
00:33:05.319 --> 00:33:07.799
You'll see him push the doctor.
Now watch.

419
00:33:07.799 --> 00:33:09.039
Fuck you too!

420
00:33:09.039 --> 00:33:10.799
Pushes and cusses him as well.

421
00:33:10.799 --> 00:33:13.160
Twice he was down. Twice!

422
00:33:13.839 --> 00:33:15.359
I just was born like that.

423
00:33:15.359 --> 00:33:19.319
I mean I cannot help it.
I'm trying sometimes, but it's not me.

424
00:33:20.920 --> 00:33:23.359
I get sick of trying
something which I don't like.

425
00:33:23.920 --> 00:33:25.200
Do you sleep well?
Do you sleep much?

426
00:33:25.200 --> 00:33:29.319
No, I'm very nervous.
I have to touch things when I...

427
00:33:29.319 --> 00:33:32.960
Even in interviews, or when I eat,
at the table I have to talk to people.

428
00:33:33.880 --> 00:33:36.000
I have so much energy, I have to spend it.

429
00:33:36.799 --> 00:33:38.279
So I'll always be like that.

430
00:33:39.920 --> 00:33:43.599
And sometimes on the court
I'm so emotional

431
00:33:44.039 --> 00:33:47.160
that I have to talk
with people or do things

432
00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:50.480
to get out of this.

433
00:34:15.119 --> 00:34:16.920
Now there are two left.

434
00:34:17.679 --> 00:34:19.039
Ashe and Năstase.

435
00:34:19.480 --> 00:34:22.360
Ashe had had this great run
beating Stan Smith in the quarterfinals.

436
00:34:22.760 --> 00:34:27.119
It looked like he was gonna
get that title, like he had the match won.

437
00:34:27.480 --> 00:34:31.719 line:5%
It was a challenge to try
to put some perspective on it,

438
00:34:32.039 --> 00:34:37.119 line:5%
because many of the things
that occurred were so different in nature

439
00:34:37.440 --> 00:34:42.400
that you had to draw an analysis
as to whether this was creative Năstase

440
00:34:42.880 --> 00:34:47.440
or whether he was doing something
that was so totally off the books

441
00:34:47.800 --> 00:34:50.320
that no one could
understand it at the time.

442
00:34:51.079 --> 00:34:53.519
- 15 - love.
- Correct call?

443
00:34:55.000 --> 00:34:57.559
Năstase asks the umpire:
Correct call?

444
00:34:57.559 --> 00:35:00.840
I can't put my finger on one moment
of Năstase doing something,

445
00:35:00.840 --> 00:35:02.920
but there were a number
of little outbursts.

446
00:35:04.519 --> 00:35:06.039
Now the advantage to Ashe.

447
00:35:08.119 --> 00:35:11.599
Ilie's trying to let us know
the airplanes are coming so close

448
00:35:11.599 --> 00:35:13.320
he can hardly hear himself think.

449
00:35:14.639 --> 00:35:16.360
They have airplanes in Bucharest.

450
00:35:17.960 --> 00:35:21.679
Dominique Grazia, she's a Belgian,
fiancée of Ilie Năstase.

451
00:35:22.159 --> 00:35:25.320
They split the first two sets,
then Ashe won a tie break on the third,

452
00:35:25.320 --> 00:35:28.280
it looked like that was going
to be the pendulum-swinging moment

453
00:35:28.280 --> 00:35:32.199
and he went up 3-1 in the fourth set
with a break point for 4-1,

454
00:35:32.199 --> 00:35:34.480
almost two breaks, didn't get it,

455
00:35:34.480 --> 00:35:35.800
still went ahead 4-2,

456
00:35:36.400 --> 00:35:39.320
then Năstase came back
and won that set, beat him in 5.

457
00:35:41.159 --> 00:35:43.880 line:5%
He has the match right here on his racket.

458
00:35:44.320 --> 00:35:46.800
The Open championship at match point.

459
00:35:50.760 --> 00:35:53.199
And he'll have to suffer
through a second serve.

460
00:35:59.440 --> 00:36:01.920
Hell of a shot, Ilie Năstase!

461
00:36:03.000 --> 00:36:05.000
Off of a net-caught ball!

462
00:36:06.679 --> 00:36:08.079
He is the champion!

463
00:36:09.480 --> 00:36:12.159
First major championship
title for Năstase.

464
00:36:12.559 --> 00:36:15.159 line:5%
The US Open 1972 is his!

465
00:36:16.519 --> 00:36:21.000 line:5%
Dominique says: We'll take the 25.000$
in 1$ bills and spread them around.

466
00:36:21.000 --> 00:36:25.079 line:5%
For Ilie, I'm sure, is really overcome
with what he's just accomplished.

467
00:36:25.880 --> 00:36:29.039
Dominique Grazia can't quite believe it.

468
00:36:38.360 --> 00:36:42.639
Yesterday I went back and
watched Năstase beat Gorman.

469
00:36:43.880 --> 00:36:45.440
Mister Năstase. Sorry.

470
00:36:46.960 --> 00:36:50.280
When the match went over,
Ashe said in the presentation ceremony

471
00:36:50.280 --> 00:36:51.800
Ilie is a great player,

472
00:36:51.800 --> 00:36:56.840
but someday he'll be even better
when he learns to behave better.

473
00:36:56.840 --> 00:37:00.760
Năstase, typically of him,
waved his winner's cheque at Ashe,

474
00:37:00.760 --> 00:37:03.599
as Arthur said that,
just to sort of poke fun at him.

475
00:37:06.960 --> 00:37:11.320
He had the body of a man,
he had something of the psyche of a man,

476
00:37:11.320 --> 00:37:16.559
and yet often his conduct
seemed to be like that of a...

477
00:37:16.960 --> 00:37:20.119
I don't mean it meanly,
but kind of a spoiled brat.

478
00:37:21.159 --> 00:37:25.480
He was the master of play.
He won Monte Carlo, he won Rome.

479
00:37:25.480 --> 00:37:29.320
He won the US Open, he won the French.
At that time, he was the best.

480
00:37:45.280 --> 00:37:49.679
Năstase wins the French Open,
taking home the first prize of 15,000$.

481
00:37:55.760 --> 00:37:59.199
This is the second major
championship title for Ilie.

482
00:38:01.119 --> 00:38:02.920
Will Wimbledon be next?

483
00:38:03.559 --> 00:38:08.960
Of course he was No. 1 in the world.
In 1973 and 1972 he won everything.

484
00:38:11.719 --> 00:38:15.239
We grew up watching him on TV.
I learned how to count, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,

485
00:38:15.239 --> 00:38:18.639
I learned that Ilie Năstase
won this and this.

486
00:38:18.639 --> 00:38:21.000
He won the Masters many, many times.

487
00:38:23.000 --> 00:38:26.960
I believe that he did what he enjoyed,

488
00:38:26.960 --> 00:38:31.480
and managed to be unique,
an icon through how he lived.

489
00:38:33.000 --> 00:38:36.119
Being number one,
all the while being naughty

490
00:38:36.119 --> 00:38:38.159
and enjoying life...

491
00:38:39.079 --> 00:38:40.840
is there anything
more beautiful than that?

492
00:38:49.440 --> 00:38:52.000 line:5%
His hand-to-eye coordination
was unbelievable.

493
00:38:52.599 --> 00:38:55.679
He was a great athlete...
run, speed, everything.

494
00:38:55.679 --> 00:39:00.440
I mean, playing tennis was easier
for him than tying your shoelaces.

495
00:39:18.920 --> 00:39:22.239
...some wonderful plays by Năstase
and a remarkable performance,

496
00:39:22.239 --> 00:39:25.599
to win the Masters title
four times in five years.

497
00:39:26.000 --> 00:39:28.559
He is the first player
to achieve this incredible feat.

498
00:40:05.800 --> 00:40:08.360
In our time, my time, Ilie's time,

499
00:40:08.360 --> 00:40:11.559 line:5%
I think you had more personalities.

500
00:40:12.760 --> 00:40:15.840
You could relate
to different plays on the court,

501
00:40:16.719 --> 00:40:19.360
like myself, Ilie, Vilas...

502
00:40:19.679 --> 00:40:22.360
in different ways compared to today.

503
00:40:31.000 --> 00:40:32.639
We meant the human sides.

504
00:40:32.639 --> 00:40:36.039
They were much more human,
today they are much more machine.

505
00:40:36.400 --> 00:40:39.599
It's difficult also
for the journalist to build

506
00:40:40.079 --> 00:40:43.800 line:5%
a friendship or
a communication with the players.

507
00:40:44.159 --> 00:40:47.639
I saw him playing an unforgettable match
against Arthur Ashe.

508
00:40:47.639 --> 00:40:51.920
That was the only match in history
where both players lost.

509
00:40:52.320 --> 00:40:55.320
Because that never happened
before and afterwards.

510
00:41:07.320 --> 00:41:10.599
At the time,
I was a referee for the event.

511
00:41:11.119 --> 00:41:13.400 line:5%
And somebody came to me and said:

512
00:41:13.760 --> 00:41:17.360 line:5%
Please go down to the locker rooms,
something is happening there.

513
00:41:18.280 --> 00:41:20.400
Ilie is trying to irritate Arthur.

514
00:41:21.000 --> 00:41:24.199
I went down and I saw...

515
00:41:25.119 --> 00:41:28.280
that Arthur Ashe
was trying to comb his hair,

516
00:41:28.679 --> 00:41:32.440
and suddenly Ilie came from his side:

517
00:41:32.800 --> 00:41:37.280
"Negroni, you don't have
such nice hair as I have here!

518
00:41:37.719 --> 00:41:39.199
"So get off here!"

519
00:41:41.079 --> 00:41:42.960
Nasty, who's making
a movie of you now?

520
00:41:43.280 --> 00:41:46.400
No, they don't make a movie,
it's just for a television here.

521
00:41:49.760 --> 00:41:53.599
My friend, Negroni is my best friend
in the whole America!

522
00:41:53.599 --> 00:41:55.920
Nobody else talks to you, that's why.

523
00:41:57.400 --> 00:42:01.519 line:5%
Billie Jean King and Arthur Ashe, the two
most important tennis players of all time.

524
00:42:02.000 --> 00:42:04.519 line:5%
Because they went beyond tennis.

525
00:42:05.199 --> 00:42:09.679
There you go. And then you have, maybe,
a few crazy people along the way.

526
00:42:09.679 --> 00:42:13.840
Ilie would be someone
who's very passionate, very soulful,

527
00:42:14.159 --> 00:42:16.400
and when you're passionate, things...

528
00:42:16.920 --> 00:42:19.360
And you can't help it.

529
00:42:36.360 --> 00:42:39.880
He is also making mistakes.
Why don't you give him a warning too?

530
00:42:41.360 --> 00:42:43.719
If you give me a warning
give one to him too.

531
00:42:45.119 --> 00:42:47.840 line:5%
You always knew that something
was gonna happen.

532
00:42:48.199 --> 00:42:51.440 line:5%
He's gonna blow up,
or something to try to make you mad.

533
00:42:51.840 --> 00:42:57.039
And I had no problem with that, I only
had a problem if the referee didn't...

534
00:42:59.000 --> 00:43:02.960
control the match,
sometimes the umpires at that time,

535
00:43:03.280 --> 00:43:06.119
they were a bit afraid of some players.

536
00:43:06.119 --> 00:43:08.840
They were a little bit
afraid of Ilie as well, I think.

537
00:43:10.559 --> 00:43:11.480
15 - 40.

538
00:43:16.480 --> 00:43:17.719
First service.

539
00:43:19.760 --> 00:43:21.599
- First service.
- Why?

540
00:43:22.320 --> 00:43:23.719
- Why?
- Let.

541
00:43:23.719 --> 00:43:24.719
When?

542
00:43:27.840 --> 00:43:28.840
Let?

543
00:43:29.360 --> 00:43:32.119
- Arthur wasn't ready.
- Not my fault, my friend.

544
00:43:32.119 --> 00:43:37.000 line:5%
Ashe was leading 4-0-1 in the final set,
with 15-40 lead and Năstase serving,

545
00:43:37.000 --> 00:43:38.639
to make it 5-1.

546
00:43:38.639 --> 00:43:41.280
Every time Năstase started to serve,

547
00:43:42.440 --> 00:43:46.440
he kept looking up and saying:
Are you ready, Mr. Ashe? Are you ready?

548
00:43:48.639 --> 00:43:51.280
Give him a warning
if he's not ready all the time.

549
00:43:54.119 --> 00:43:55.760
15-40.
First service.

550
00:43:56.119 --> 00:43:57.960
- No. 30-40.
- Come on!

551
00:43:58.480 --> 00:43:59.519
Shut up.

552
00:44:06.360 --> 00:44:08.440
It's not my fault
he's not ready all the time.

553
00:44:09.920 --> 00:44:11.519
Play now.

554
00:44:11.519 --> 00:44:14.639
I'll play, but it's not my fault
he's not ready all the time.

555
00:44:25.880 --> 00:44:27.559
And I said "Uh-oh."

556
00:44:28.000 --> 00:44:32.000
At that time, the rules were not so clear
as they are now.

557
00:44:32.639 --> 00:44:37.719
All the rules were in 10 little chapters,

558
00:44:38.239 --> 00:44:39.920
on three pages.

559
00:44:51.159 --> 00:44:52.599
Ready, Mr. Ashe?

560
00:44:58.679 --> 00:44:59.920
- One?
- Play, play!

561
00:45:00.880 --> 00:45:01.840
Yes, Ma'am.

562
00:45:04.239 --> 00:45:06.360
Please be quiet.
Thank you.

563
00:45:07.559 --> 00:45:08.840
15-40.
First service.

564
00:45:09.320 --> 00:45:10.360
Yes, Ma'am.

565
00:45:22.480 --> 00:45:24.800
Năstase,
you are already warned.

566
00:45:26.400 --> 00:45:27.320
Play now.

567
00:45:29.159 --> 00:45:31.719
And this happens three or four times.

568
00:45:32.440 --> 00:45:37.280
And, unfortunately, the chair umpire
didn't interfere immediately.

569
00:45:37.800 --> 00:45:40.800
Only after the third time, he said:

570
00:45:40.800 --> 00:45:44.559
"Please go on, Mr. Năstase,
play has to be continuous."

571
00:45:58.000 --> 00:45:59.000
Go, play!

572
00:46:01.119 --> 00:46:03.199
Yes, Sir!
Unbelievable!

573
00:46:03.880 --> 00:46:05.880
Umpire, he's talking to me!

574
00:46:07.599 --> 00:46:10.960 line:5%
Something in me snapped,
I just couldn't take it anymore.

575
00:46:11.679 --> 00:46:15.760
I waited and waited,
and he was warned two times on the court,

576
00:46:16.519 --> 00:46:19.599
then, finally,
I said I'm not taking it anymore.

577
00:46:21.000 --> 00:46:22.159
That's that, I'm leaving.

578
00:46:32.480 --> 00:46:34.519
The referee immediately defaulted Ashe,

579
00:46:35.119 --> 00:46:37.960
and Ashe said
"I'm out of here before you default me."

580
00:46:37.960 --> 00:46:40.000
"It's not a real default, I quit",
and he walked off.

581
00:46:40.400 --> 00:46:41.599
The referee defaulted him,

582
00:46:41.599 --> 00:46:44.000
then immediately defaulted
Năstase screaming

583
00:46:44.000 --> 00:46:46.000
"Why can he do that?"

584
00:46:46.400 --> 00:46:49.079
So the referee defaulted Năstase.

585
00:46:49.079 --> 00:46:53.079
You know, within two minutes,
they're both defaulted, the match is over.

586
00:46:53.599 --> 00:46:57.679 line:5%
The funny part was 24 hours later
they reinstated both of them,

587
00:46:57.679 --> 00:47:00.159 line:5%
into the tournament,

588
00:47:00.159 --> 00:47:04.800 line:5%
because they couldn't have the guys
both going out, there was no round robin.

589
00:47:08.599 --> 00:47:11.960 line:5%
Do you think you are missing some rules
when such things happen?

590
00:47:13.079 --> 00:47:18.119 line:5%
Certainly, we are having a meeting
of the Professional Council this week.

591
00:47:18.559 --> 00:47:23.239
One of the major items on the agenda
is a code of conduct for tennis players.

592
00:47:23.559 --> 00:47:27.639
If a player commits
a gross infraction of the rules,

593
00:47:28.639 --> 00:47:31.840
very gross, maybe you take
a set away from him.

594
00:47:32.920 --> 00:47:37.119
I would have them, yesterday,
rather than default Năstase,

595
00:47:37.760 --> 00:47:40.280
when he is serving at 1-4, 15-40,

596
00:47:40.760 --> 00:47:43.159
just say to him
"It's 1-5, 15-40."

597
00:47:43.599 --> 00:47:47.960 line:5%
Arthur Ashe helped
write the code of conduct,

598
00:47:48.400 --> 00:47:50.360
writing 500 pages,

599
00:47:51.000 --> 00:47:53.280
which were afterwards reduced,

600
00:47:54.320 --> 00:47:57.440
or 500 pages of notes,

601
00:47:57.920 --> 00:48:00.960
because he had experiences
with Năstase of all kinds!

602
00:48:01.400 --> 00:48:05.159 line:5%
If he sees me in the locker room
or something, he'll go...

603
00:48:05.880 --> 00:48:08.320 line:5%
It sounds crazy, but this is Năstase.

604
00:48:08.679 --> 00:48:10.800 line:5%
I don't think of him as a man.

605
00:48:10.800 --> 00:48:13.519 line:5%
I think of him as
30 years old, going on 10.

606
00:48:14.000 --> 00:48:16.000 line:5%
Something's gonna have to be done.

607
00:48:16.480 --> 00:48:19.000 line:5%
A couple of guys should
jump over the net and threaten him.

608
00:48:19.400 --> 00:48:22.800 line:5%
Listen, Ilie, I want a nice match,
just go out and play tennis,

609
00:48:22.800 --> 00:48:27.400 line:5%
but if you start pulling the crap
you've pulled against others,

610
00:48:27.400 --> 00:48:30.079
I'm not gonna tell you when,
but I'm gonna deck you.

611
00:48:30.079 --> 00:48:34.960
The good thing about playing Năstase is
there's a chance he'll get defaulted.

612
00:48:35.519 --> 00:48:38.679
So you want to hang in there,
there's no telling when he'll go crazy.

613
00:48:39.639 --> 00:48:41.920
Are you going to behave
better in the future?

614
00:48:42.719 --> 00:48:44.039
Do you think I'm bad?

615
00:48:45.440 --> 00:48:48.000
We need a code of conduct
so it's absolutely laid down

616
00:48:48.000 --> 00:48:51.840
what happens when
one does this and one does that.

617
00:48:52.639 --> 00:48:56.239
I'm saying if they want me
to be perfect or professional,

618
00:48:56.239 --> 00:48:58.480
I want the umpire to be professional.

619
00:48:59.079 --> 00:49:00.320
That's all I'm asking.

620
00:49:19.679 --> 00:49:21.320
Do you feel different from normal people?

621
00:49:21.760 --> 00:49:24.840
No, I don't realise
who I am or what I'm doing.

622
00:49:25.400 --> 00:49:27.920
Everyday I'm involved in the game so...

623
00:49:31.320 --> 00:49:35.239
So the next morning I saw in
the breakfast room of the Grand Hotel

624
00:49:35.599 --> 00:49:41.639
Arthur sitting close to the windows,
and suddenly I saw a kind of...

625
00:49:42.679 --> 00:49:48.039
a big bunch of flowers moving
through the tables there,

626
00:49:48.639 --> 00:49:51.079
and behind these big flowers was...

627
00:49:52.039 --> 00:49:53.480
Ilie Năstase.

628
00:49:54.400 --> 00:49:55.519
Going like this,

629
00:49:56.599 --> 00:49:58.840
approaching Arthur's table,

630
00:49:59.320 --> 00:50:01.719
taking the flowers and saying:

631
00:50:02.800 --> 00:50:04.719
"Mr. Ashe, I apologise."

632
00:50:05.159 --> 00:50:08.800
After last night,
when you left in an temper,

633
00:50:09.159 --> 00:50:11.239
when did you start talking to Năstase?

634
00:50:11.239 --> 00:50:14.599
We started talking
in the locker rooms!

635
00:50:16.519 --> 00:50:20.599
Look, between Năstase and myself,
it will blow over in five to ten...

636
00:50:21.360 --> 00:50:22.920
Five or ten days.

637
00:50:23.880 --> 00:50:25.519
That's just the way he is.

638
00:50:25.519 --> 00:50:28.360
I just decided I wasn't
going to take it on the court.

639
00:50:28.360 --> 00:50:30.360
Off the court it's something else.

640
00:50:30.360 --> 00:50:32.679
I just said hello to him
five minutes ago.

641
00:50:33.159 --> 00:50:36.679
I cannot be like Ashe, for instance.
Or Ashe cannot be like me.

642
00:50:36.679 --> 00:50:39.400
So why do you want me to change now,
when I'm 30?

643
00:50:40.639 --> 00:50:44.239
Well, you know,
he did call Arthur Negroni,

644
00:50:44.239 --> 00:50:47.840 line:5%
and today if he did that he'd be...
you know, put in jail.

645
00:50:51.920 --> 00:50:54.159 line:5%
Tennis great
Serena Williams is speaking out

646
00:50:54.159 --> 00:50:56.719 line:5%
against another legendary
star of the sport,

647
00:50:56.719 --> 00:51:01.239 line:5%
accused of making a shocking remark
about her unborn child.

648
00:51:02.360 --> 00:51:06.280
Controversy struck the ITF
press conference on Friday.

649
00:51:06.599 --> 00:51:11.280 line:5%
Romanian team captain Ilie Năstase,
once a No. 1 tennis star himself,

650
00:51:11.280 --> 00:51:14.400
is now facing serious backlash
after he was overheard

651
00:51:14.400 --> 00:51:16.400
making racially insensitive remarks.

652
00:51:16.719 --> 00:51:21.039
Năstase allegedly said "Let's see
what color it has, chocolate with milk?"

653
00:51:21.039 --> 00:51:23.559 line:5%
His words have ignited
a firestorm of criticism,

654
00:51:23.559 --> 00:51:26.639 line:5%
with many condemning
Năstase's inappropriate comment.

655
00:51:27.280 --> 00:51:29.400
I think it's a good thing for her...

656
00:51:30.039 --> 00:51:32.119
Let's see what color the baby will be!

657
00:51:32.119 --> 00:51:35.480
It's nice to have a kid, in my opinion.

658
00:51:36.400 --> 00:51:40.199
Serena Williams, who had recently
shared her pregnancy through a selfie,

659
00:51:40.519 --> 00:51:42.320
slammed Năstase on Instagram.

660
00:51:42.760 --> 00:51:45.000
In a powerful quote, she stated:

661
00:51:45.000 --> 00:51:48.760
"It disappoints me to know we live in
a society where people like Ilie Năstase

662
00:51:49.159 --> 00:51:52.840
"can make such racist comments
towards myself and an unborn child."

663
00:51:53.519 --> 00:51:57.960 line:5%
I know he didn't mean it in a bad way,
I've known him a long time.

664
00:51:58.559 --> 00:52:05.119 line:5%
But I told him to think twice
before he makes such remarks.

665
00:52:09.519 --> 00:52:14.079 line:5%
I think it hurts him to be
in the middle of this kind of story,

666
00:52:14.079 --> 00:52:15.639 line:5%
because that's not him.

667
00:52:15.639 --> 00:52:20.280 line:5%
You know, things have changed since
what he would say and get away with.

668
00:52:20.800 --> 00:52:24.119
You just have to be
more cautious in what you say,

669
00:52:24.119 --> 00:52:26.480
and hopefully he learned his lesson.

670
00:52:26.480 --> 00:52:31.320
He unfortunately got involved saying
some things where we would say...

671
00:52:32.159 --> 00:52:34.679
"That's just the way he was,
that's the way he is."

672
00:52:35.880 --> 00:52:38.000
But, you know,
you just can't do that today.

673
00:52:39.760 --> 00:52:42.280
He made stupid comments all the time,

674
00:52:42.639 --> 00:52:46.679 line:5%
but we used to go "That's Năstase,
don't worry about it, that's Nasty."

675
00:52:47.039 --> 00:52:50.760
But deep down I know the essence
of who he is, he's got a good heart.

676
00:53:01.079 --> 00:53:02.039
Hey, Commie, how are you?

677
00:53:02.400 --> 00:53:05.679
Commie sounded
nicer than Communist.

678
00:53:07.440 --> 00:53:13.719
We were friends, it didn't matter
that one guy was from South Africa,

679
00:53:13.719 --> 00:53:16.679
another from Kenya or the US.
We were all equal.

680
00:53:17.559 --> 00:53:20.280
In the locker rooms,
we were all the same.

681
00:53:21.280 --> 00:53:24.679
He had names for all his rivals,
Tom Okker he'd call Omelette,

682
00:53:24.679 --> 00:53:26.079
like cheese omelette.

683
00:53:26.079 --> 00:53:27.880
He'd call Stan Smith Godzilla,

684
00:53:28.400 --> 00:53:32.360
he'd call Arthur Ashe, who was
of course an African-American, Negroni.

685
00:53:32.880 --> 00:53:35.119
He'd kid Jimmy Connor,
call him a baby,

686
00:53:35.119 --> 00:53:37.320
"you want your mummy to hold
your hand?"

687
00:53:37.320 --> 00:53:38.480
It was funny.

688
00:53:38.480 --> 00:53:42.400
He calls me crazy, he calls me a goon,
he calls me a lot of things.

689
00:53:42.400 --> 00:53:44.360
Am I gonna take offense at that?

690
00:53:44.360 --> 00:53:48.679
I called him Nasty, I even
sometimes called him Dad. Hey, Dad!

691
00:53:48.679 --> 00:53:51.079
I called him Gypsy,
he called me Russian.

692
00:53:52.000 --> 00:53:54.480
Yeah, that was him.
He had a nickname for everybody.

693
00:53:55.039 --> 00:53:58.840
He'd come in and say it
and nobody would think twice about it.

694
00:53:59.159 --> 00:54:02.480
But all the guys used
to still love him for this,

695
00:54:02.480 --> 00:54:05.039
because he was so friendly off the court.

696
00:54:07.039 --> 00:54:10.920 line:5%
We didn't have any money in the old days,
we couldn't afford a coach.

697
00:54:11.639 --> 00:54:13.199 line:5%
so we helped each other.

698
00:54:13.840 --> 00:54:16.559
We would eat together,
talk about tennis all the time,

699
00:54:16.559 --> 00:54:19.679
So we were all very close
and everybody knew each other.

700
00:54:19.679 --> 00:54:23.519
Because we didn't have a team of people
around us to insulate us.

701
00:54:23.840 --> 00:54:26.199
We weren't insulated, we didn't have that.

702
00:54:26.199 --> 00:54:28.800
So we had to rely on
each other like family.

703
00:54:29.719 --> 00:54:32.079
Năstase was too much for me.

704
00:54:35.159 --> 00:54:38.280
He was too fast for me,
the way he played...

705
00:54:39.320 --> 00:54:42.280
- He played like--
- I'm not fast!

706
00:54:45.440 --> 00:54:46.800
I believe he is...

707
00:54:47.559 --> 00:54:49.840
- Have you ever defeated him?
- Never.

708
00:54:49.840 --> 00:54:53.199
- The day will come.
- Yes, for sure!

709
00:54:53.519 --> 00:54:57.079 line:5%
I remember we went to
the cinema in Paris, for example,

710
00:54:57.519 --> 00:55:00.159 line:5%
we went to the shows,
Champs-Élysées,

711
00:55:00.559 --> 00:55:03.639
sometimes it happened like this,
we were helping each other.

712
00:55:03.639 --> 00:55:08.239
I practiced with Orantes,
with Ilie, we practiced on Mondays,

713
00:55:08.239 --> 00:55:10.639
then we played
semifinals against each other.

714
00:55:11.159 --> 00:55:13.639
Today, this is not possible.

715
00:55:14.760 --> 00:55:16.800
Everybody was pretty much
the same at the time,

716
00:55:16.800 --> 00:55:20.239
there weren't any special
places for the top players,

717
00:55:20.239 --> 00:55:24.199
so even in the locker rooms,
you still had players sort of...

718
00:55:24.760 --> 00:55:29.239
in their section of the lockers,
but players were together quite a bit.

719
00:55:30.000 --> 00:55:32.199
It was a little more friendly, in an way,

720
00:55:32.760 --> 00:55:35.599
everybody was pretty much
treated the same, so it was...

721
00:55:35.920 --> 00:55:38.119
I think it was more fun at that time,

722
00:55:38.119 --> 00:55:42.599
I think they're losing some of
that camaraderie that you had in general.

723
00:55:43.199 --> 00:55:48.719 line:5%
After training, in the evening...
Mr. Năstase here was the same as ever.

724
00:55:48.719 --> 00:55:52.239
In the evening, 7 or 8 of us
would go to a pizzeria.

725
00:55:52.679 --> 00:55:54.440
Năstase, pay for your pizza.

726
00:55:54.800 --> 00:55:59.559
Ion, you know I never have money.
To this day, I haven't seen that money.

727
00:56:00.039 --> 00:56:01.800
Can I have a loan?

728
00:56:01.800 --> 00:56:05.239
We all contributed a dollar or two.

729
00:56:06.159 --> 00:56:08.719
Or francs, whatever it was.

730
00:56:09.039 --> 00:56:13.400
We bought 5 pizzas
and shared them between 8 or 9 of us.

731
00:56:13.920 --> 00:56:15.679
The next day, we were friends.

732
00:56:16.079 --> 00:56:19.599
These two were absolutely
from another planet.

733
00:56:20.679 --> 00:56:23.400
They won't make them
like that again. Never.

734
00:56:24.000 --> 00:56:26.719
That can't exist in today's tennis.

735
00:56:28.119 --> 00:56:30.440
These are people who
have traveled without a coach.

736
00:56:31.719 --> 00:56:35.000 line:5%
You have to understand
they grew without a coach,

737
00:56:35.000 --> 00:56:36.599
they trained each other.

738
00:56:37.039 --> 00:56:39.280 line:5%
We depended on one another, you know.

739
00:56:39.679 --> 00:56:44.440
To travel together, to warm up together
and be there for one another.

740
00:56:44.760 --> 00:56:47.920
So yes,
there was a very close fraternity

741
00:56:48.480 --> 00:56:52.360
and likewise,
as we moved into the mid-70s,

742
00:56:52.360 --> 00:56:54.599
when tennis prospered.

743
00:56:55.920 --> 00:56:59.480
Mixed doubles was made for
a showman of Ilie Năstase's gifts.

744
00:57:06.960 --> 00:57:09.159 line:5%
We all wanted to dress like him.

745
00:57:09.159 --> 00:57:11.960 line:5%
because he was
the first one wearing colours

746
00:57:11.960 --> 00:57:16.840
and he was wearing these wristbands,
sometimes Romanian wristbands,

747
00:57:17.480 --> 00:57:19.840
that looked like my rasta wristbands.

748
00:57:20.239 --> 00:57:24.639
He had this elegance about him
and yes, you could tell he was real.

749
00:57:25.239 --> 00:57:27.199
Because he was talking the truth.

750
00:57:27.639 --> 00:57:30.679
Sometimes using bad words,
which was great, we loved it.

751
00:57:30.679 --> 00:57:33.000
Watching it, it was, like, bad!

752
00:57:37.159 --> 00:57:39.960
There were a lot of characters back then,
it was a great time in tennis.

753
00:57:39.960 --> 00:57:42.119 line:5%
Because of people like...

754
00:57:43.119 --> 00:57:47.360 line:5%
Năstase was one of those people
who opened it up, like whoa!

755
00:57:48.159 --> 00:57:52.639
This isn't just, like, the Country Club,
this is a little different.

756
00:57:58.079 --> 00:58:00.519
Năstase could be hilarious.

757
00:58:02.119 --> 00:58:06.840 line:5%
The thing about Nasty was
he had the innate timing of a clown.

758
00:58:07.800 --> 00:58:10.719 line:5%
To be a good clown, it's all about timing.

759
00:58:20.679 --> 00:58:26.039
I have the opportunity of introducing
maybe one of the best matches here,

760
00:58:26.039 --> 00:58:27.480
at Forest Hills.

761
00:58:27.480 --> 00:58:31.559
First, from Romania,
the great Ilie Năstase!

762
00:58:37.480 --> 00:58:40.320
And also, from Rhode Island,

763
00:58:41.159 --> 00:58:45.639
one of the future greats
of the game, Franklin Telly!

764
00:59:08.159 --> 00:59:09.119
Out!

765
00:59:11.519 --> 00:59:12.880
15 - all.

766
00:59:14.239 --> 00:59:16.960
Arey ou trying to make a monkey
out of me?

767
00:59:25.960 --> 00:59:29.280
You know your problem?
You are too temperamental!

768
00:59:30.000 --> 00:59:31.599
Let's play serious now.

769
01:00:17.760 --> 01:00:19.199
Wimbledon, 1975.

770
01:00:19.760 --> 01:00:24.039
Nasty hadn't liked this lineswoman's call,
so he asked to have her moved.

771
01:00:24.559 --> 01:00:28.280
His request was granted
and, gallantly, he carried her chair.

772
01:00:29.639 --> 01:00:33.599 line:5%
Those were exactly his jokes.
He was like a child, you know.

773
01:00:34.239 --> 01:00:37.599
This means two balls in a let call.
This means one ball.

774
01:00:37.599 --> 01:00:39.440
So you take it however you like.

775
01:00:45.800 --> 01:00:47.079
Listen.

776
01:00:47.800 --> 01:00:49.039
Listen carefully.

777
01:00:49.679 --> 01:00:51.119
If you want to film me,

778
01:00:52.280 --> 01:00:54.719
you need to pay,
you and your friend.

779
01:00:57.400 --> 01:00:58.320
How much?

780
01:00:59.639 --> 01:01:02.599
I am very expensive. Too expensive.

781
01:01:13.800 --> 01:01:18.039 line:5%
First of all, it was at the Hilton,
I think, and they gave us a room.

782
01:01:18.400 --> 01:01:22.719 line:5%
Eddie Dibbs' birthday, is that the one
he's talking about? With the cake?

783
01:01:23.280 --> 01:01:24.519
Oh boy.

784
01:01:24.840 --> 01:01:26.519
Well, we were grown-up children.

785
01:01:26.960 --> 01:01:28.400
I don't know if he told you this.

786
01:01:28.400 --> 01:01:33.199
There had to be 30 people there,
my wife and Eddie's girlfriend and...

787
01:01:33.519 --> 01:01:36.639
Nasty and Borg were there.

788
01:01:36.639 --> 01:01:40.840
So we said, Nasty, we gotta
do something, we gotta get him a cake.

789
01:01:40.840 --> 01:01:43.639
And they brought out
a huge cake for my birthday.

790
01:01:44.000 --> 01:01:46.800
And there were two or three candles on it.

791
01:01:46.800 --> 01:01:50.840
And I'm standing on one side
and I go Eddie, blow out the candles!

792
01:01:50.840 --> 01:01:53.559
So me, like an idiot, not thinking,

793
01:01:53.880 --> 01:01:56.440
I go blow out the candles,
and as I bend down...

794
01:01:56.760 --> 01:01:58.719
I take his head and
push his head in the cake.

795
01:01:59.119 --> 01:02:03.559
Bang! Sticks my head
completely stuffed in it, like that!

796
01:02:04.320 --> 01:02:08.320
Then I looked up, I couldn't even see,
I was covered with cake.

797
01:02:08.320 --> 01:02:13.440
And that turned into probably
the best food fight I've ever been in.

798
01:02:13.760 --> 01:02:15.800
Within five seconds,

799
01:02:16.519 --> 01:02:18.800
the whole room was flying with stuff.

800
01:02:19.199 --> 01:02:20.679
The whole room...

801
01:02:21.119 --> 01:02:25.960
You had to hide under the table, 'cause
chairs were flying, everything was flying!

802
01:02:25.960 --> 01:02:28.840
That room was a mess.
It was a mess, and...

803
01:02:30.440 --> 01:02:32.920
One of us had to clean it up.
That was me.

804
01:02:40.320 --> 01:02:44.519
The bad boys, yeah, I love them.
I love Jimmy and Năstase together.

805
01:02:45.159 --> 01:02:49.599
The connection between Jimmy Connors
and Ilie Năstase was crazy.

806
01:02:50.320 --> 01:02:52.719
Because they went
over the limit sometimes.

807
01:02:53.519 --> 01:02:58.360
The two of them connected because
they were kindred spirits in many ways.

808
01:02:59.119 --> 01:03:02.559
Both of them became kind of...
not who I wanted to be,

809
01:03:02.559 --> 01:03:05.639
but they were the main
reason why I was watching tennis.

810
01:03:06.360 --> 01:03:10.159
Jimbo!
They were known as the Nasty Boys.

811
01:03:10.480 --> 01:03:15.119
They dressed alike, they put on
those big long socks, they came out...

812
01:03:16.199 --> 01:03:18.760
Started playing some
doubles together, I believe.

813
01:03:18.760 --> 01:03:21.719 line:5%
I mean, Ilie and Jimmy, they kind of...

814
01:03:22.280 --> 01:03:24.320 line:5%
made tennis cool, in a way,

815
01:03:24.320 --> 01:03:25.440
where it wasn't

816
01:03:27.400 --> 01:03:31.000
only the white men's sport wearing
white clothes, not saying anything,

817
01:03:31.320 --> 01:03:33.159
but suddenly it became
a little bit of rock 'n' roll.

818
01:03:34.280 --> 01:03:36.760
The ball was on the line!

819
01:03:38.960 --> 01:03:39.960
On the line!

820
01:03:43.519 --> 01:03:46.719
The ball was on the line,
It touched the chalk.

821
01:03:47.199 --> 01:03:48.360
It was on the line!

822
01:03:48.679 --> 01:03:50.800 line:5%
On the court, they were...

823
01:03:51.719 --> 01:03:53.360 line:5%
Completely nuts altogether!

824
01:03:53.360 --> 01:03:56.239 line:5%
I remember some matches they had
at the US Open that were...

825
01:03:56.639 --> 01:03:57.559
a nightmare!

826
01:04:01.519 --> 01:04:04.320
In the doubles final,
Tom Okker and Marty Riessen

827
01:04:04.320 --> 01:04:06.920
lost to the flamboyant
Năstase and Connors

828
01:04:06.920 --> 01:04:09.480
in some of the wildest tennis in years.

829
01:04:21.519 --> 01:04:25.079
Jimmy Connors, a few words
for Romanian television, may I?

830
01:04:25.440 --> 01:04:28.599
- What would You like me to say?
- Only a few words.

831
01:04:29.119 --> 01:04:30.840
Your intentions in the future.

832
01:04:31.400 --> 01:04:34.039
I will play some more
doubles with Năstase,

833
01:04:34.039 --> 01:04:36.920
I hope we can win at Wimbledon,
or Forest Hills once again.

834
01:04:52.440 --> 01:04:55.440
Oh yes, he was a mentor,
and oh yes, he influenced me.

835
01:04:55.840 --> 01:04:59.639
And I say this from the heart because,
you know, some good, some bad.

836
01:04:59.639 --> 01:05:02.239
But that was my choice.

837
01:05:02.719 --> 01:05:05.719
And we became more than that. Friends.

838
01:05:06.199 --> 01:05:07.440
Do you think I'm tired?

839
01:05:08.880 --> 01:05:09.880
No.

840
01:05:10.599 --> 01:05:12.199
He's the one who is tired!

841
01:05:22.920 --> 01:05:25.920
- Come on, boy, let's go!
- I'm going, I'm going.

842
01:05:36.519 --> 01:05:40.840
When he says I'm part of his family,
that, to me, is the best.

843
01:05:41.199 --> 01:05:44.960
That's the best, because
we've been through more than just...

844
01:05:45.880 --> 01:05:46.800
tennis together.

845
01:05:55.199 --> 01:05:57.480
I mean,
Jimmy was the best at the US Open.

846
01:05:57.920 --> 01:06:02.079
But Năstase, because he's Romanian
and he's not from a huge country,

847
01:06:02.440 --> 01:06:06.159
he represents everybody
who's not from the USA or UK.

848
01:06:06.800 --> 01:06:09.159 line:5%
If you're from
a smaller country, you know,

849
01:06:09.599 --> 01:06:11.400 line:5%
you're probably gonna want Năstase,

850
01:06:12.000 --> 01:06:15.159
you can feel it's
the big guys versus the little guys.

851
01:06:15.559 --> 01:06:19.960
And Năstase was a big reason
our sport grew so much.

852
01:06:21.000 --> 01:06:24.119
I always liked Jimmy Connors' comment.

853
01:06:24.440 --> 01:06:27.039
"I could never figure out
how hard he'd hit the ball,

854
01:06:27.440 --> 01:06:29.039
"then I realised he didn't know either."

855
01:06:29.480 --> 01:06:33.039 line:5%
Ilie Năstase was the rockstar of his time.

856
01:06:33.360 --> 01:06:36.840
And no question that
Ilie Năstase helped the brand.

857
01:06:37.320 --> 01:06:42.920
What he did was... he gave us
credibility with elite athletes.

858
01:06:42.920 --> 01:06:45.519
That is hard to get, and we got it.

859
01:06:45.880 --> 01:06:49.719
Three months into the brand, we had
the No. 1 tennis player in the world.

860
01:06:50.079 --> 01:06:53.559
He had won the US Open and
the French Open and was flamboyant.

861
01:06:54.280 --> 01:06:57.119
It just set the tone for
our whole tennis business.

862
01:06:57.840 --> 01:07:01.760
We immediately followed him with
his doubles partner, Jimmy Connors.

863
01:07:01.760 --> 01:07:06.199
He wasn't ranked as high as Ilie
at that time, so we signed him for 5,000.

864
01:07:06.199 --> 01:07:09.360
But it led to a tennis... ethos, really.

865
01:07:10.000 --> 01:07:13.760
That led to McEnroe, Billy Jean King,
Sampras and Agassi

866
01:07:14.119 --> 01:07:16.920
and Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz.

867
01:07:16.920 --> 01:07:18.880
It was all started by Ilie Năstase.

868
01:07:20.840 --> 01:07:24.840
I think I was fortunate
to be a tennis player.

869
01:07:25.239 --> 01:07:28.440
Especially in this period, you know.

870
01:07:29.039 --> 01:07:32.079
Because players like
Pancho Gonzáles and Segura,

871
01:07:32.559 --> 01:07:34.400
maybe they are
better players than we are,

872
01:07:34.880 --> 01:07:38.360
but they didn't win any money,
or they did, but less than we win now.

873
01:07:38.360 --> 01:07:42.159 line:5%
A few of them were traveling with
their wives or with their girlfriends,

874
01:07:42.519 --> 01:07:45.840 line:5%
but the majority of the players
couldn't afford taking another person,

875
01:07:46.159 --> 01:07:48.440
so they just travelled on their own.

876
01:07:48.440 --> 01:07:52.320
So they interacted with each other
a lot more than they do today.

877
01:07:52.320 --> 01:07:55.119 line:5%
For us Eastern Europeans
it was not possible

878
01:07:55.119 --> 01:07:59.159 line:5%
that parents would follow me to Paris,
or follow me to Wimbledon,

879
01:07:59.159 --> 01:08:01.360
because they couldn't travel.

880
01:08:01.360 --> 01:08:03.079
So, for example,

881
01:08:04.159 --> 01:08:08.840
when I was in Wimbledon or in France,
my parents weren't there.

882
01:08:09.360 --> 01:08:14.239 line:5%
Back then, for US tournaments,
we needed an invitation.

883
01:08:15.320 --> 01:08:17.960
Ilie asked Edy McGoldrick

884
01:08:18.520 --> 01:08:22.159
to invite Mariana Simionescu
and I to the US circuit.

885
01:08:22.720 --> 01:08:24.039
That's how I started.

886
01:08:24.039 --> 01:08:27.039
Of course, later
Ion Ţiriac became my manager,

887
01:08:27.520 --> 01:08:33.520
so to us, that generation of
young women and men too,

888
01:08:33.960 --> 01:08:35.359
they were both idols.

889
01:08:36.560 --> 01:08:39.159
The first time I got to France,

890
01:08:39.680 --> 01:08:41.039
to Roland-Garros,

891
01:08:42.279 --> 01:08:44.840
I was 18, Mariana was 17.

892
01:08:45.159 --> 01:08:47.000
Ilie and Ion took care of us.

893
01:08:47.439 --> 01:08:49.159
They were a huge help.

894
01:08:57.760 --> 01:08:59.479
Oh my God!

895
01:09:17.880 --> 01:09:20.039
See how strong the bandito is?

896
01:09:20.359 --> 01:09:21.520
The bandito ?

897
01:09:22.600 --> 01:09:25.399
You see the power he has, the guy?

898
01:09:26.039 --> 01:09:28.800
You're nuts.
What if he dropped you on the head?

899
01:09:29.840 --> 01:09:32.319
Now I'm awake. I'm OK.

900
01:09:32.319 --> 01:09:33.960
Energized before the match!

901
01:09:33.960 --> 01:09:36.840
- Careful, he could hit you.
- I'm awake now.

902
01:09:42.880 --> 01:09:45.039
You want me to do it?
Chris, you want me to?

903
01:09:45.520 --> 01:09:48.319
- What's this?
- I'm pulling my pants down.

904
01:09:48.319 --> 01:09:49.560
I'm just kidding.

905
01:09:52.439 --> 01:09:55.279
Ilie, as a person, was very sensitive.

906
01:09:56.000 --> 01:09:57.680
He had a big heart, Ilie.

907
01:09:58.119 --> 01:10:01.319
He helped a lot of people, he helped...

908
01:10:02.000 --> 01:10:04.600 line:5%
If you had problems, he was always there.

909
01:10:05.199 --> 01:10:09.800 line:5%
Because of the revolution and the war
in Iran, I did not play for four years,

910
01:10:09.800 --> 01:10:11.239 line:5%
I did not hit one ball.

911
01:10:11.600 --> 01:10:15.119
And then I came to France, I remember
I had nowhere to go to sleep.

912
01:10:15.439 --> 01:10:20.119
I remember he was practicing
with Guillermo Vilas on court no. 3.

913
01:10:20.560 --> 01:10:24.920
I waited until he finished,
I didn't know if he remembers me or not.

914
01:10:25.239 --> 01:10:29.319
After they finished the practice,
he came out of the court

915
01:10:29.920 --> 01:10:32.560
and I got up and said Hello, Ilie.

916
01:10:32.560 --> 01:10:36.600
And he goes "Oh my God, Mansour,
where have you been?

917
01:10:36.920 --> 01:10:40.279
"I thought you were dead
in the revolution or...

918
01:10:40.600 --> 01:10:42.479
"I'm very happy to see you."

919
01:10:42.840 --> 01:10:45.000
He asked if there is
anything he can do for me,

920
01:10:45.479 --> 01:10:49.960
he said "I can help," which was
very kind and generous of him.

921
01:10:51.880 --> 01:10:57.399 line:5%
I would describe him as
completely crazy in a mostly good way.

922
01:10:57.399 --> 01:11:00.840 line:5%
You know, he would give you
the shirt off his back.

923
01:11:01.479 --> 01:11:04.239
People he didn't even know,
I saw him many times,

924
01:11:04.239 --> 01:11:06.920
he'd literally give them his own clothes.

925
01:11:10.600 --> 01:11:14.319
At the times, players felt
more free to express themselves,

926
01:11:14.319 --> 01:11:17.640
there wasn't as much at stake,
maybe, if they made a mistake.

927
01:11:17.640 --> 01:11:20.720
Yeah, plus, you have
to consider two things.

928
01:11:20.720 --> 01:11:23.840
The rules were not as strict
as they are today,

929
01:11:24.159 --> 01:11:27.479
and the umpires were
not as good as they are today.

930
01:11:27.479 --> 01:11:30.840
Most of the time, the tournament
organizer would ask a friend

931
01:11:31.279 --> 01:11:34.079
Could you come tomorrow
and umpire this match?

932
01:11:40.279 --> 01:11:43.399
If the umpires are wrong
I protest every time.

933
01:11:43.399 --> 01:11:45.319
We play for money, you know?

934
01:11:45.319 --> 01:11:49.319
Everytime they make a mistake,
it's like taking money from your pockets.

935
01:11:49.760 --> 01:11:53.920
I think the umpires
are not professional enough.

936
01:12:01.600 --> 01:12:05.560
I was never wrong about umpire calls.

937
01:12:06.399 --> 01:12:08.119
I just knew.

938
01:12:08.840 --> 01:12:12.840
I knew if the ball was out
or not, with my back turned.

939
01:12:12.840 --> 01:12:16.560
I only argued calls for solid reasons.

940
01:12:16.880 --> 01:12:19.079
Never when they were right.

941
01:12:19.399 --> 01:12:22.600
McEnroe sometimes did,
but not me, never.

942
01:12:31.920 --> 01:12:35.159
Outside the gate,
tickets cost 5 times more.

943
01:12:35.159 --> 01:12:38.159
There were 20,000 spectators.

944
01:12:38.560 --> 01:12:42.800 line:5%
10,000 had come to boo him,
10,000 had come to hug him.

945
01:12:42.800 --> 01:12:46.199
To top it off, back then
McEnroe was a bit mental.

946
01:12:46.880 --> 01:12:49.279 line:5%
The umpire was a man
named Frank Hammond.

947
01:12:49.640 --> 01:12:53.199 line:5%
And Hammond was this roly-poly guy
whom all the players loved.

948
01:12:53.560 --> 01:12:56.600
He was very even-minded
and very calm.

949
01:12:56.600 --> 01:12:59.439
But Năstase and McEnroe
started getting into it.

950
01:12:59.439 --> 01:13:03.239
Frank was the first professional
tennis umpire of that era.

951
01:13:03.680 --> 01:13:07.199
He was not equipped
to deal with that kind of crisis.

952
01:13:08.199 --> 01:13:10.840
I lost to Ilie a few times,
but that time I was like

953
01:13:11.199 --> 01:13:14.840
"OK, this is enough,
I'm not accepting this losing anymore."

954
01:13:14.840 --> 01:13:17.399
I was sort of playing
the best tennis of my life

955
01:13:17.399 --> 01:13:21.319 line:5%
and I think Ilie knew early on
that he wasn't gonna win,

956
01:13:21.319 --> 01:13:24.000 line:5%
so he decided to make
a complete circus out of it.

957
01:13:24.000 --> 01:13:28.960 line:5%
Frank Hammond was a players' umpire.
Loved all the players. Loved Năstase.

958
01:13:31.079 --> 01:13:32.840
He called me son of a bitch.

959
01:13:33.479 --> 01:13:36.680
Tell him at least
to call me Mister son of a bitch!

960
01:13:36.680 --> 01:13:38.399
- I never heard that.
- No?

961
01:13:38.760 --> 01:13:40.800
Maybe you can read
his lips better than me.

962
01:13:41.119 --> 01:13:44.199
I'm Romanian and I can read his lips.
You cannot read his lips?

963
01:13:44.199 --> 01:13:46.880
It was one of the first
night matches of the US Open,

964
01:13:46.880 --> 01:13:50.279
there was an energy, people
had had a couple of drinks,

965
01:13:50.279 --> 01:13:52.640
and, you know,
Ilie was feeling the crowd.

966
01:14:00.920 --> 01:14:03.760
Tell him not to talk to me
when I play the point!

967
01:14:03.760 --> 01:14:05.560
If you're a good umpire.

968
01:14:06.039 --> 01:14:09.680
Frank Hammond was trying
with every fiber of his being

969
01:14:09.680 --> 01:14:11.920
to get Năstase to calm down,

970
01:14:11.920 --> 01:14:16.560
trying to talk to him off the microphone
in the changers, "Please, Ilie!"

971
01:14:18.720 --> 01:14:20.159
Ladies and gentlemen, please.

972
01:14:21.000 --> 01:14:23.560
If you quiet down,
we can continue the match.

973
01:14:24.119 --> 01:14:25.800
It's the only way we can.

974
01:14:29.239 --> 01:14:32.399
Both players were just using the crowd
and going nuts and doing stuff.

975
01:14:32.399 --> 01:14:34.720
It was just the worst of all time.

976
01:14:43.520 --> 01:14:44.439
Ilie!

977
01:14:48.600 --> 01:14:49.680
I know, I know.

978
01:14:50.319 --> 01:14:51.600
I'm telling you to serve.

979
01:14:51.600 --> 01:14:55.199
You son of a bitch telling me to play?
How can I play like that?

980
01:14:55.199 --> 01:14:59.159
This was the one time, probably,
where I just said

981
01:14:59.159 --> 01:15:02.439
"I'm gonna sit back
and watch the master at work."

982
01:15:02.439 --> 01:15:04.840
To me, he was making
a total ass out of himself.

983
01:15:05.159 --> 01:15:08.279 line:5%
On the other hand,
that's what people wanted to see.

984
01:15:08.640 --> 01:15:11.800
Tennis is... we're playing
for the people watching us.

985
01:15:12.119 --> 01:15:15.439
They wanna be entertained,
they wanna laugh, they wanna smile,

986
01:15:15.439 --> 01:15:18.800
they wanna get angry, whatever,
it's part of the entertainment.

987
01:15:18.800 --> 01:15:22.239
And Ilie was probably
the No. 1 entertainer in tennis.

988
01:15:22.239 --> 01:15:24.079
Frank Hammond had had enough.

989
01:15:24.079 --> 01:15:27.000
Why they didn't both
get defaulted, I don't know.

990
01:15:29.039 --> 01:15:31.319
Game, set, match, McEnroe!

991
01:15:33.760 --> 01:15:36.720
The crowd in New York
was going absolutely berserk.

992
01:15:37.359 --> 01:15:42.319
They are throwing stuffs. It's crazy.
I didn't want him to be defaulted.

993
01:15:42.920 --> 01:15:44.520
He deserved to be defaulted.

994
01:15:50.079 --> 01:15:51.760
They took the guy out of the chair,

995
01:15:51.760 --> 01:15:54.800
it's the only time in my carrier
they took an umpire out of the chair.

996
01:15:55.319 --> 01:15:58.800
And then the referee came out
and he comes in the chair and I was like

997
01:15:58.800 --> 01:16:00.279
"Oh my God!"

998
01:16:01.159 --> 01:16:02.760
So, I'm like, forget it, let's just play.

999
01:16:02.760 --> 01:16:04.960
I don't care.
I'm going to beat his ass anyway.

1000
01:16:13.399 --> 01:16:15.520
Game, set, and match.

1001
01:16:17.399 --> 01:16:19.680 line:5%
He didn't want to do it
to embarrass Frank,

1002
01:16:19.680 --> 01:16:23.800
but it pretty much ended up ruining Frank
Hammond's career in many, many ways.

1003
01:16:23.800 --> 01:16:27.439
It wasn't really fair, but they were
worried about riots in the stands,

1004
01:16:27.439 --> 01:16:29.439 line:5%
it was as night match,
so a lot of reasons for it.

1005
01:16:29.439 --> 01:16:31.239 line:5%
I wasn't even happy I'd won.

1006
01:16:31.239 --> 01:16:34.159
I walked into the locker room,
I was about to go "You motherf..."

1007
01:16:35.279 --> 01:16:36.680
Then he's like Macaroni!

1008
01:16:37.039 --> 01:16:39.359
He's the only guy in the world
to call me Macaroni.

1009
01:16:39.920 --> 01:16:42.760
He says "Where are we going
for dinner? I got these two girls."

1010
01:16:42.760 --> 01:16:44.359
And I'm like...

1011
01:16:45.720 --> 01:16:48.560
"Whatever you want,"
and then, you know,

1012
01:16:48.560 --> 01:16:51.720
all of a sudden I'm having
dinner with him at 1 in the morning.

1013
01:18:19.119 --> 01:18:21.319
He had so many women
you couldn't even count.

1014
01:18:21.319 --> 01:18:23.960
I mean,
he had beauty queens, you name it.

1015
01:18:23.960 --> 01:18:27.000
Năstase was on top of the list
when it comes to that.

1016
01:18:29.079 --> 01:18:30.680
He makes the ground...

1017
01:18:31.199 --> 01:18:33.199
kind of like an earthquake, you know?

1018
01:18:33.720 --> 01:18:36.760
a small earthquake and
then a bigger earthquake.

1019
01:18:46.720 --> 01:18:49.760
He was very aware of his surroundings.

1020
01:18:49.760 --> 01:18:54.039
While we were playing doubles, he knew
where every woman was in the stands.

1021
01:18:55.000 --> 01:19:00.520
I was a good middleman: "Go talk to her,
see what she's doing tonight."

1022
01:19:01.880 --> 01:19:05.239 line:5%
His eyes and my eyes
just locked with each other

1023
01:19:05.720 --> 01:19:08.520
and he said
"You have got bedroom eyes."

1024
01:19:08.960 --> 01:19:11.119
He had the softest lips!

1025
01:19:11.119 --> 01:19:16.760
I had never kissed
such beautiful lips in my life, like this!

1026
01:19:17.560 --> 01:19:20.239 line:5%
He knows how I feel about him.

1027
01:19:20.239 --> 01:19:24.000 line:5%
I always have and always will.

1028
01:19:24.000 --> 01:19:25.960
He will always have a place in my heart.

1029
01:19:26.399 --> 01:19:28.199
He was very flirtatious.

1030
01:19:29.000 --> 01:19:33.159
You know, he was married, so,
you know, we were just always friends.

1031
01:19:33.520 --> 01:19:38.439
and we would meet... he would come
to my apartment or we go to Studio 54.

1032
01:19:39.159 --> 01:19:40.439
We just lived out lives.

1033
01:19:41.520 --> 01:19:44.680
It was a place you weren't judged.

1034
01:19:45.079 --> 01:19:49.079
You go downstairs and there
were mattresses laid out or whatever

1035
01:19:49.079 --> 01:19:50.840
and that was the place to be.

1036
01:20:13.520 --> 01:20:18.039
The people also loved Ilie
because he's more Latin

1037
01:20:18.039 --> 01:20:21.000
the way he is on the court,
the way he talks, the way he walks,

1038
01:20:21.000 --> 01:20:24.880
the way he wears his clothes,
it's always something special.

1039
01:20:25.199 --> 01:20:27.159
And he was a good-looking man.

1040
01:20:32.880 --> 01:20:35.399
- Want to greet anyone in Bucharest?
- All the girls.

1041
01:20:35.760 --> 01:20:37.640
Those who sent you
cables for your birthday?

1042
01:20:37.640 --> 01:20:42.680
Yes, and for my victories in Tbilisi
and at Wimbledon.

1043
01:20:43.079 --> 01:20:45.520
How does mail reach you
while you're traveling?

1044
01:20:45.960 --> 01:20:48.039
Is your address Ilie Năstase, Europe?

1045
01:20:48.760 --> 01:20:49.680
Sort of.

1046
01:21:02.960 --> 01:21:05.359
That's all I know.
But I love the melody.

1047
01:21:15.199 --> 01:21:17.279
Down with Ceauşescu!

1048
01:21:17.840 --> 01:21:18.800
...to the initiators...

1049
01:21:19.520 --> 01:21:21.840
which we consider to be...

1050
01:21:23.479 --> 01:21:24.399
To be...

1051
01:21:34.319 --> 01:21:35.359
Come inside.

1052
01:22:03.439 --> 01:22:06.279
I did not risk my life.
The people reigns supreme.

1053
01:22:06.720 --> 01:22:08.760
The people has proven its greatness.

1054
01:22:09.199 --> 01:22:12.119
For me to be here,
in the National Television building,

1055
01:22:12.119 --> 01:22:16.239
the people who, on the stadium,
cried as they heard the anthem

1056
01:22:16.720 --> 01:22:19.720
stood before machine guns
so I could talk to you now.

1057
01:22:20.239 --> 01:22:23.000
I urge all our sportspeople
to support the population,

1058
01:22:23.479 --> 01:22:25.760
just as our wonderful army defends them.

1059
01:22:26.239 --> 01:22:29.680
And to remain calm,
as true examples for the people,

1060
01:22:30.319 --> 01:22:32.119
as uplifting models.

1061
01:22:32.479 --> 01:22:35.640
The people needs each of us
in these awe-inspiring times.

1062
01:22:36.159 --> 01:22:39.920
Earlier, our great Ilie Năstase
left to reunite with his family in Paris.

1063
01:22:40.279 --> 01:22:46.439
Right now, he is our spokesperson
abroad, heralding this grand victory.

1064
01:22:48.920 --> 01:22:52.680
This Air France flight is the first
to arrive from Bucharest tonight.

1065
01:22:53.000 --> 01:22:56.439
Its 30 passengers,
joyful but tired,

1066
01:22:56.439 --> 01:22:58.720
were under siege on
Bucharest Airport for 4 hours.

1067
01:22:58.720 --> 01:23:00.960
On the first row, Ilie Năstase,
tennis player.

1068
01:23:01.680 --> 01:23:02.960
I've seen tanks there.

1069
01:23:03.640 --> 01:23:06.159
But if we continue to fight,
it will be all worth it.

1070
01:23:07.880 --> 01:23:09.439
We're the first out of there.

1071
01:23:09.920 --> 01:23:11.039
It's over.

1072
01:23:12.680 --> 01:23:15.239
After 25 years
of Ceauşescu's dictatorship,

1073
01:23:16.319 --> 01:23:21.800
the people, everyone,
even those who were close to him...

1074
01:23:22.479 --> 01:23:24.319
No one will support him.

1075
01:23:37.119 --> 01:23:40.039
And now, Comrade
Lieutenant General Marin Dragnea,

1076
01:23:40.039 --> 01:23:43.479
First Vice-President of
the National Council for Sports,

1077
01:23:43.479 --> 01:23:46.000
will give a medal to the best
Romanian sportsman of the year,

1078
01:23:46.000 --> 01:23:49.119
here to celebrate his victory!

1079
01:23:51.479 --> 01:23:54.800
During the Communist era,
all the Eastern European countries,

1080
01:23:54.800 --> 01:23:57.000
they wanted only the best sportsmen,

1081
01:23:57.000 --> 01:23:59.600
because they wanted
to present only the best.

1082
01:24:02.000 --> 01:24:05.399 line:5%
We were Romanians,
part of the Eastern Bloc,

1083
01:24:05.399 --> 01:24:10.239 line:5%
so it was harder for us,
both going abroad and returning.

1084
01:24:10.239 --> 01:24:13.399
Each time we returned to Romania,

1085
01:24:13.920 --> 01:24:18.239
if we stayed more than 20 days,
the government took back our passports.

1086
01:24:18.680 --> 01:24:20.119
We were being watched.

1087
01:24:21.239 --> 01:24:23.079 line:5%
When traveling for the Davis Cup,

1088
01:24:23.960 --> 01:24:27.239 line:5%
the embassy people
were always following us.

1089
01:24:27.239 --> 01:24:29.760
They knew where we were, what we did.

1090
01:24:30.199 --> 01:24:32.800
We were used to the pressure.

1091
01:24:37.159 --> 01:24:40.960
Tennis had become such a huge thing
in Romania because of these two guys,

1092
01:24:41.319 --> 01:24:43.439
Ţiriac first and then, of course, Năstase.

1093
01:24:44.119 --> 01:24:49.239
When the Davis Cup came there,
they put it in City Hall in Bucharest.

1094
01:24:49.840 --> 01:24:52.560
And these lines of people
just stretched around the city

1095
01:24:52.560 --> 01:24:54.720
to see and touch the Davis Cup.

1096
01:24:55.279 --> 01:24:56.600
It was a marvelous event.

1097
01:25:08.359 --> 01:25:10.399
He can beat them blindfolded!

1098
01:25:11.000 --> 01:25:14.199
Năstase runs circles
around the Americans.

1099
01:25:16.600 --> 01:25:18.199
To Romania, the Davis Cup

1100
01:25:19.800 --> 01:25:21.079
was something grand.

1101
01:25:21.079 --> 01:25:24.920
Seeing the American team,
with world champion Stan Smith,

1102
01:25:25.399 --> 01:25:28.600
seeing Ilie play against him
in the grand finale at Wimbledon...

1103
01:25:28.600 --> 01:25:32.319
Romanian TV didn't show
a lot of tennis back then.

1104
01:25:32.680 --> 01:25:35.199
But we could see the Davis Cup.

1105
01:25:35.920 --> 01:25:37.600
Ion Ţiriac and Ilie Năstase,

1106
01:25:37.960 --> 01:25:40.720
20 million people wish you good luck!

1107
01:25:41.319 --> 01:25:42.720
The best of luck!

1108
01:25:43.920 --> 01:25:48.760
In his mind, I think that had
a huge impact on Năstase.

1109
01:25:48.760 --> 01:25:51.199
I think he knew this was his chance.

1110
01:25:51.640 --> 01:25:55.079 line:5%
Because Romanians lost a couple
of finals in the Davis Cup in America

1111
01:25:55.079 --> 01:25:56.199
before the '72.

1112
01:25:56.560 --> 01:25:59.479
But this was Ilie's chance
to really prove himself

1113
01:25:59.800 --> 01:26:02.520
and I think that stayed
with him a long time.

1114
01:26:03.720 --> 01:26:06.840
That meeting back in 1972 in Bucharest

1115
01:26:07.439 --> 01:26:10.359 line:5%
was a perfect chance for Ceauşescu.

1116
01:26:10.920 --> 01:26:13.680 line:5%
The presence of the US team in Bucharest

1117
01:26:13.680 --> 01:26:19.520
was a new chance for him
to showcase the double game

1118
01:26:19.520 --> 01:26:23.159
that he played with the US and Russia.

1119
01:26:23.159 --> 01:26:27.079
The meeting happened
with Nixon's approval.

1120
01:26:27.520 --> 01:26:30.159
The international context was very tense,

1121
01:26:30.159 --> 01:26:33.520
after the Munich terrorist attack
on the Israeli athletes.

1122
01:26:34.199 --> 01:26:38.439
That year, in the Munich Olympics,
those Israeli athletes had been killed.

1123
01:26:38.439 --> 01:26:41.039
And we had two Jewish members
on our team,

1124
01:26:41.039 --> 01:26:46.880
So we came there, to Bucharest,
certainly concerned about our welfare,

1125
01:26:47.720 --> 01:26:50.119
how safe it was gonna be,

1126
01:26:50.720 --> 01:26:53.239
so we had very tight
security the whole time.

1127
01:26:53.680 --> 01:26:57.279 line:5%
Ceauşescu said,
if anything happened to anybody,

1128
01:26:57.880 --> 01:27:01.039 line:5%
heads would roll,
and I think he meant it literally.

1129
01:27:09.039 --> 01:27:11.880
I knew all the stories
about the Americans having to take

1130
01:27:11.880 --> 01:27:14.199
a different route
to the courts every day.

1131
01:27:14.199 --> 01:27:16.159
It was very dangerous.

1132
01:27:16.520 --> 01:27:18.560
We had guards in our hotel rooms.

1133
01:27:18.560 --> 01:27:22.880
We didn't get to go out that much,
all we did was maybe go to the stadium,

1134
01:27:23.399 --> 01:27:26.159
come back, and we had
protection everywhere.

1135
01:27:26.479 --> 01:27:29.319
Secret Service or whatever,
from the Romanian government.

1136
01:27:29.640 --> 01:27:31.920
It was pretty tough
to play in those conditions.

1137
01:27:33.119 --> 01:27:36.039
Năstase! Năstase!

1138
01:27:37.359 --> 01:27:41.920
You will be surprised,
the arena has had a complete makeover,

1139
01:27:42.239 --> 01:27:44.720
new bleachers, sacrificed roosters...

1140
01:27:45.399 --> 01:27:46.520
Not bad at all!

1141
01:27:47.560 --> 01:27:50.760
All the workers on the site,
carpenters, mechanics,

1142
01:27:51.159 --> 01:27:53.520
they are excited about the game.

1143
01:27:53.520 --> 01:27:56.479
For Comrade Ilie,
we'll make an excellent court!

1144
01:27:56.960 --> 01:28:00.880
They were playing on red clay,
behind the Iron Curtain for the first time

1145
01:28:01.319 --> 01:28:02.640
and it was a big deal.

1146
01:28:03.279 --> 01:28:06.399 line:5%
With Stan Smith serving
the way he was serving on grass,

1147
01:28:06.399 --> 01:28:08.439
the grass was very, very quick.

1148
01:28:08.439 --> 01:28:12.560
But on clay, it was sort of heavy clay,

1149
01:28:12.560 --> 01:28:15.279
because Ion Ţiriac was clever

1150
01:28:15.680 --> 01:28:17.720
and he knew how to prepare the court.

1151
01:28:17.720 --> 01:28:20.159
He said We're gonna
water these courts so much

1152
01:28:20.159 --> 01:28:23.239
that Godzilla Stan Smith
will think he's playing on a beach.

1153
01:28:24.640 --> 01:28:28.520
It's not Wimbledon, it's not Forest Hills,
it's not Roland-Garros.

1154
01:28:31.279 --> 01:28:33.319
The Davis Cup is in Bucharest.

1155
01:28:42.439 --> 01:28:43.439
He'd won the US Open

1156
01:28:43.439 --> 01:28:45.760
and now they were gonna play
the Davis Cup in Bucharest.

1157
01:28:46.079 --> 01:28:49.199
People said It's over.
The Americans don't have a chance.

1158
01:28:49.520 --> 01:28:51.079
I remember even Năstase saying

1159
01:28:51.079 --> 01:28:54.359
"We're 10-1 favorites
to beat the Americans."

1160
01:28:54.720 --> 01:28:58.800
We kind of joked that
all the linesmen were related to Ţiriac

1161
01:28:59.159 --> 01:29:01.960
so he was orchestrating everything.

1162
01:29:02.279 --> 01:29:04.960
We had a neutral umpire
from Argentina,

1163
01:29:05.479 --> 01:29:09.439
who was a big guy, but he was intimidated
by the situation, it was difficult.

1164
01:29:13.439 --> 01:29:18.840
At every mistake by the Americans,
the audience applauded and jumped up.

1165
01:29:19.520 --> 01:29:20.439
Myself included.

1166
01:29:21.399 --> 01:29:24.399
Very few countries
that I've heard until now

1167
01:29:25.199 --> 01:29:29.000
use the colorful language that
Romanians use when they're upset.

1168
01:29:29.680 --> 01:29:33.399
There were some terrible calls, there
were actually a lot of very bad calls.

1169
01:29:34.239 --> 01:29:38.399
I think, frankly, there was a lot of
deliberate cheating for the Romanians.

1170
01:29:38.960 --> 01:29:44.399
If you are in doubt, better to give
the point to our compatriots

1171
01:29:44.399 --> 01:29:45.800
than to the others.

1172
01:29:46.159 --> 01:29:50.000
And it was not just the Romanian case,

1173
01:29:50.000 --> 01:29:52.359
it was everywhere, to be honest,
in the Davis Cup.

1174
01:29:52.680 --> 01:29:58.000
And in 1980
there was not a neutral jury.

1175
01:29:58.399 --> 01:30:01.199
The umpire, the referee were local.

1176
01:30:02.479 --> 01:30:05.399
Just must be something
that I can't play in Romania.

1177
01:30:06.439 --> 01:30:09.119
But people don't understand that,
because...

1178
01:30:09.119 --> 01:30:12.199
They want me to win,
they don't want me to lose.

1179
01:30:12.199 --> 01:30:15.439
We are told the Năstase-Ţiriac duo
is rock solid?

1180
01:30:15.439 --> 01:30:16.439
So we hope...

1181
01:30:16.880 --> 01:30:19.399
Emotionally?
We know the technique is impeccable.

1182
01:30:19.399 --> 01:30:22.880
No, there's no problem between us.
No fracture.

1183
01:30:23.640 --> 01:30:27.640
There is nothing to confess.
This is just how things are.

1184
01:30:27.640 --> 01:30:33.079
We are professionals, but there's
a seven-year age gap between us.

1185
01:30:33.479 --> 01:30:37.880
As the Party has instructed,
we hope to win the Davis Cup,

1186
01:30:37.880 --> 01:30:40.560
and I don't see what could prevent us.

1187
01:30:40.920 --> 01:30:43.720
Năstase deserved
to be shot for one thing:

1188
01:30:43.720 --> 01:30:48.079
he only returned to the country
on the Monday of the Davis Cup week.

1189
01:30:48.079 --> 01:30:50.000
He had vanished for three weeks.

1190
01:30:50.760 --> 01:30:53.800
Probably with
his future wife or something.

1191
01:30:54.680 --> 01:30:56.439
By Tuesday, his palms were blistered.

1192
01:30:57.319 --> 01:31:03.199
Apparently, there are rumors that we've
had a falling-out, but it's not true.

1193
01:31:03.920 --> 01:31:07.479
Not true at all.
Ion and myself are friends.

1194
01:31:08.279 --> 01:31:10.239
We've always supported each other.

1195
01:31:11.920 --> 01:31:15.119
I never play well in Romania
because the crowds...

1196
01:31:16.720 --> 01:31:20.279
expect so much from me
and put so much pressure on me.

1197
01:31:27.960 --> 01:31:29.359
I really want

1198
01:31:30.520 --> 01:31:32.279
to win this Davis Cup.

1199
01:31:39.000 --> 01:31:42.720
They were counting on Ilie to
win that match, that opening.

1200
01:31:42.720 --> 01:31:43.880
That was the key of the whole thing.

1201
01:31:43.880 --> 01:31:47.239
He served for the first set,
leading with 9-8, and got broken

1202
01:31:47.239 --> 01:31:50.359
and that turned the whole match
and Smith won its straight sets.

1203
01:31:50.359 --> 01:31:55.000
Than the next day, he and Ţiriac
were bickering a lot during the doubles.

1204
01:32:10.279 --> 01:32:14.920
They were not working together
as well as they could have.

1205
01:32:14.920 --> 01:32:18.119
In fact, they even got into a bit
of a confrontation during the match.

1206
01:32:19.840 --> 01:32:22.000
So, you know, it was...

1207
01:32:22.640 --> 01:32:25.600
We loved to see that,
from our point of view.

1208
01:32:30.640 --> 01:32:33.520
He and Ţiriac were bickering
a lot during the doubles.

1209
01:32:33.920 --> 01:32:37.840
So Smith and Erik van Dillen, the US,
beat them very comfortably.

1210
01:32:38.159 --> 01:32:42.479
And Smith won the decisive match
the last day, beating Ţiriac 6-0 in 5th,

1211
01:32:42.479 --> 01:32:44.880
so Năstase's match
with Tom Gorman was meaningless.

1212
01:32:48.079 --> 01:32:52.840 line:5%
We, the ball boys...
I was a ball boy in that final.

1213
01:32:53.279 --> 01:32:56.640
It was obvious
Ţiriac couldn't beat Stan Smith.

1214
01:32:57.079 --> 01:32:58.720
He actually told me:

1215
01:32:58.720 --> 01:33:02.720
"Throw that ball wide,
can't you see I'm beat?"

1216
01:33:03.439 --> 01:33:06.439
I realised he wanted me
to throw the ball sideways,

1217
01:33:06.439 --> 01:33:12.479
so another ball boy would pick it up,
giving him time to catch his breath.

1218
01:33:13.239 --> 01:33:17.079
Even with the doubles going
the other way, Romania might have won.

1219
01:33:18.279 --> 01:33:22.359
Looking back it was a sad occasion for
Năstase that he didn't perform his best

1220
01:33:22.840 --> 01:33:24.439
on the surface that suited him

1221
01:33:24.439 --> 01:33:27.239
in front of the fans
that were rooting so hard for him.

1222
01:33:27.239 --> 01:33:29.800
Because Ţiriac did beat
Gorman the first day.

1223
01:34:00.760 --> 01:34:04.039
I was 33 when we played in Bucharest.

1224
01:34:04.039 --> 01:34:05.920
If I hadn't played
for five hours in the first day,

1225
01:34:06.239 --> 01:34:11.800
I might have had some fuel left
that third day, for the fifth set,

1226
01:34:12.319 --> 01:34:13.520
in the singles.

1227
01:34:13.960 --> 01:34:16.039
The doubles went south for us.

1228
01:34:16.039 --> 01:34:20.119
It was one of my greatest failures.

1229
01:34:20.119 --> 01:34:22.159
He can't even understand it.

1230
01:34:22.920 --> 01:34:24.439
I mean it.

1231
01:34:24.840 --> 01:34:29.239
He's won all those Grand Slams,
he's World Champion Ilie Năstase.

1232
01:34:29.840 --> 01:34:30.960
But to me...

1233
01:34:32.000 --> 01:34:34.760
Having come from hockey,
which is a team sport.

1234
01:34:35.119 --> 01:34:37.279
I had seen a thing or two.

1235
01:34:37.880 --> 01:34:42.000
You get a hockey stick to the face,
you defend, stuff like that.

1236
01:34:42.479 --> 01:34:46.159
But he was such an individualist.

1237
01:34:47.359 --> 01:34:49.560
- He was so invested--
- I'm jumping!

1238
01:34:49.560 --> 01:34:52.560
But he was a great artist.
There you have it.

1239
01:34:53.720 --> 01:34:57.079
Dear watchers, we have
reached the end of our programme.

1240
01:34:57.439 --> 01:35:00.600
Before I take my leave, though,

1241
01:35:01.239 --> 01:35:05.800
I wish swift progress to those
who have followed our adventure

1242
01:35:05.800 --> 01:35:08.279
and hope that, in the coming years,

1243
01:35:08.680 --> 01:35:11.119
one of them will win the Grand Slam,

1244
01:35:11.119 --> 01:35:14.279
while others will form
a new Davis Cup team.

1245
01:35:14.279 --> 01:35:17.359
One that might bring home the Cup.

1246
01:35:17.720 --> 01:35:19.640
Good luck to all!

1247
01:35:40.840 --> 01:35:43.239
Năstase was pure talent.

1248
01:35:43.760 --> 01:35:47.760
I believe that Ilie,
with his way of being,

1249
01:35:49.119 --> 01:35:53.359
poetic, relaxed,
treating tennis like a game,

1250
01:35:53.359 --> 01:35:56.960
but still wanting to play it as an art,

1251
01:35:56.960 --> 01:36:01.119
Ilie wanted to deliver a show every time.

1252
01:36:02.399 --> 01:36:04.760
He would say It's just a game.

1253
01:36:04.760 --> 01:36:07.479
He even believed this
during the Davis Cup finals.

1254
01:36:07.840 --> 01:36:10.760
He believed it during those
Wimbledon finals he lost.

1255
01:36:11.199 --> 01:36:13.159 line:5%
To him, it's just a game.

1256
01:36:14.720 --> 01:36:17.640
Look, Ilie Năstase
will always be Ilie Năstase.

1257
01:36:18.560 --> 01:36:21.560 line:5%
Today when you meet him
similar to 50 years ago.

1258
01:36:21.560 --> 01:36:27.600 line:5%
I'm sure he has moments of regret,
I'm sure with the talent he had, you know,

1259
01:36:27.600 --> 01:36:29.840
he should have been No. 1 for a long time,

1260
01:36:29.840 --> 01:36:33.399
but he just couldn't help himself,
he didn't have the discipline,

1261
01:36:33.399 --> 01:36:34.920
didn't have the concentration.

1262
01:36:35.239 --> 01:36:38.039 line:5%
I always thought he could have
done a little bit more,

1263
01:36:38.039 --> 01:36:41.319 line:5%
but maybe if he did that
he wouldn't have been as natural,

1264
01:36:41.840 --> 01:36:44.600
so there's a bit of a give-and-take.

1265
01:36:44.600 --> 01:36:46.159
I remember

1266
01:36:46.880 --> 01:36:49.960 line:5%
looking at him and saying
"OK, he's playing."

1267
01:36:50.560 --> 01:36:52.159
The others were working.

1268
01:36:52.760 --> 01:36:56.680
And he was the first
that was actually playing the game.

1269
01:36:57.880 --> 01:37:00.439
When you are the best player in the world
and you're a little bit crazy,

1270
01:37:00.439 --> 01:37:02.000
it becomes very inspiring,

1271
01:37:02.399 --> 01:37:06.319 line:5%
but more than that there was
the simplicity that he played tennis with,

1272
01:37:06.319 --> 01:37:09.359 line:5%
the feel that he had
that was just unbelievable.

1273
01:37:12.359 --> 01:37:15.920
The thing was, every time he played,
the courts were full.

1274
01:37:16.239 --> 01:37:20.159
Because sometimes people
want more than just tennis.

1275
01:37:22.039 --> 01:37:26.720 line:5%
And Ilie was able to give
that little bit more to the people.

1276
01:37:28.159 --> 01:37:30.079
He just touches
the hearts and minds of people.

1277
01:37:31.279 --> 01:37:32.720
He just does.

1278
01:37:35.880 --> 01:37:41.520 line:5%
He was Romanian;
he stayed in our hearts and minds,

1279
01:37:41.520 --> 01:37:43.880 line:5%
because he made us happy.

1280
01:37:44.359 --> 01:37:49.279
He is one of the great people who
taught me to aim at being the best.

1281
01:37:50.720 --> 01:37:54.119 line:5%
You'd never know
what he was thinking, what he was doing.

1282
01:37:54.119 --> 01:37:59.079 line:5%
That's why Ilie was
a very difficult opponent to play against.

1283
01:37:59.399 --> 01:38:02.119
But Ilie brought
something new to the sport.

1284
01:38:02.760 --> 01:38:05.279
He was the fresh thing in tennis.

1285
01:38:05.680 --> 01:38:07.279
He made tennis

1286
01:38:08.119 --> 01:38:09.960
what it is today.

1287
01:38:13.880 --> 01:38:15.720
Forget about the record.

1288
01:38:15.720 --> 01:38:18.880
He has his records, he's won his
tournaments, a couple of Grand Slams.

1289
01:38:18.880 --> 01:38:20.920 line:5%
That's all good, that's all fine.

1290
01:38:20.920 --> 01:38:24.479 line:5%
But what he did, in my opinion,
to help build the game

1291
01:38:25.000 --> 01:38:28.279
and to create the excitement,
the electricity, the charisma,

1292
01:38:29.239 --> 01:38:31.920
any other adjectives
I can figure out, he did it.

1293
01:38:32.640 --> 01:38:34.760
Năstase was hard to match.

1294
01:38:35.520 --> 01:38:37.560
The inside of Năstase was...

1295
01:38:38.079 --> 01:38:41.720
People used to say he had no lungs,
just two hearts.

1296
01:38:42.079 --> 01:38:45.479
Very generous and so on,
but a lunatic.

1297
01:38:48.600 --> 01:38:53.199
Do you ever think of being afraid
of growing old, or death?

1298
01:38:53.520 --> 01:38:56.520
Sometimes I'll think about death, but...

1299
01:38:57.479 --> 01:39:01.079
I don't see myself dead,
dying, you know?

1300
01:39:01.079 --> 01:39:04.119
I just see myself living forever.

1301
01:39:09.079 --> 01:39:14.359
When you play, you tell yourself
I have to win, it's what I'm here for.

1302
01:39:14.800 --> 01:39:19.199
But I never thought of it
in a calculated way,

1303
01:39:19.800 --> 01:39:21.199
being No. 1.

1304
01:39:21.760 --> 01:39:22.680
It just happened.

1305
01:39:23.680 --> 01:39:25.079
That's how it was.

1306
01:39:35.039 --> 01:39:38.800
His style is not perfect,
but each shot is an innovation,

1307
01:39:38.800 --> 01:39:41.359
an impulse that confuses the opponent.

1308
01:39:41.359 --> 01:39:43.880
He appears
where he couldn't logically be,

1309
01:39:44.239 --> 01:39:47.840
he sends the ball
where it couldn't logically go.

1310
01:39:48.199 --> 01:39:50.840
Has he invented surrealist tennis?

1311
01:39:54.279 --> 01:39:59.199
He is wrongly called shallow:
he loves tennis too much to neglect it.

1312
01:40:58.000 --> 01:41:02.920
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