NASTY TO THE FINISH
DISGRACED NASTASE FLOUTS BAN TO COMPOUND BRITAIN’S MISERY:
ILIE NASTASE defied an International Tennis Federation ban to take centre stage again as Britain’s Fed Cup tie with Romania finished with snubbed handshakes, a delivery of flowers and defeat.
The disgraced 70-year-old swaggered back into the Tenis Club IDU yesterday even though he had been sacked as captain after making appalling racist and sexist comments as well as an on-court tirade.
Nastase, who had been stripped of his credentials, walked through the lobby wearing a black leather jacket, dark sunglasses and a diamond stud in one ear and took up a spot in the VIP lounge.
His message was as clear as it had been the previous day, when he was first removed from the premises by several burly security guards. ‘This is Romania, I can do what I want,’ he had screamed.
On court, Johanna Konta and Heather Watson both lost their singles, but there was little talk of tennis afterwards.
Instead, world No 7 Konta was forced to defend herself over accusations she was a cry baby after leaving the field of play in tears on Saturday.
The 25-year-old was reduced to tears by Nastase during her match with Sorana Cirstea and claimed she was verbally abused by the partisan crowd.
Tournament referee Andreas Egli called a temporary suspension to the match. When it resumed, Konta regained her composure to win in straight sets to spark criticism from Cirstea.
‘With all due respect to Sorana, she was not in my shoes on that end of the court being verbally threatened,’ said Konta.
‘Any abuse is not all right but, when it’s a couple of metres away from you, screaming at you, that’s a different ball game. You don’t truly know how it affects you until you experience it, so I believe she may have been slightly unaware of what happened.’
Watson, meanwhile, was unable to shake hands with IrinaCamelia Begu after her 6-4, 7-5 defeat. She and Cirstea also failed to shake hands with Britain captain Anne Keothavong.
The British No 2 said: ‘I always shake my opponent’s hand after every match I’ve ever played. I just think it’s a sign of respect. I was very surprised.’
Begu insisted it had been a simple mistake. ‘I was so happy and I just saw Sorana and my team.’
The fall-out could be put firmly at the door of Nastase and his shocking behaviour. For years, his antics have gone seemingly unchecked, with casual sexism and racism permitted simply as the mark of a ‘real character,’ or accepted because he is from a certain generation.
But this weekend has seen his pig-headedness exposed as he was captured on camera lunging angrily towards a female British journalist whom he called a ‘whore’ because she dared to report his misdemeanours.
‘He’s been like this for years, so we’re glad it’s finally blown up and something is being done about it,’ one Romanian TV journalist remarked.
The two-time grand slam champion had set the tone at the pre-match press conference, making a racial slur about the colour of Serena Williams’ unborn child and pestering Keothavong for her hotel room number.
On the opening day, he reduced Konta to tears, calling her and Keothavong ‘f ****** b ****** .’
There appeared a half-hearted attempt at an apology as several bunches of flowers were delivered to the British team after they lost the tie 3-2, condemning them to the Europe and Africa group for a 24th consecutive year. It was suggested to Keothavong that the flowers were from Nastase.
‘Nice,’ she said with an arched eyebrow. ‘Unfortunately I can’t take them on the plane home.’
Judy Murray was similarly unimpressed.
‘Like that’s going to make everything alright,’ she tweeted. ‘I know exactly where I’d plant those flowers.’ RAFAEL NADAL landed a record 10th title at the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters, sweeping aside Albert RamosVinolas 6-1, 6-3 to become the first player in the open era to win a singles tournament 10 times. It was his 50th clay-court crown, another record. Nadal said: ‘It has been an amazing week on one of the most important events on the tour.’