NASTASE ABUSE LEAVES KONTA IN TEARS
Romanian icon’s Fed Cup axe after volley of abuse
JOHANNA KONTA dissolved into tears yesterday after she and Great Britain’s Fed Cup captain Anne Keothavong were subjected to extraordinary verbal abuse by Ilie Nastase and a partisan Romanian crowd.
Konta, who was later accused of gamesmanship for crying by opponent Sorana Cirstea, recovered to win, but her match was overshadowed by Nastase’s threatening behaviour.
The two-time Slam winner, known as ‘Mr Nasty’ during his playing days, lived up to that epithet, calling Konta and Keothavong ‘f***ing bitches’ and the umpire a ‘f***ing a ****** e’.
Keothavong condemned his behaviour, saying: ‘What he said to both Johanna and myself, it’s not something I am going to repeat because it’s not appropriate for anyone to speak to any other human in that way.
‘We’ve come here to play a competitive match against
Romania in a fair environment and we certainly don’t expect verbal abuse.’
Nastase was later ejected from the IDU tennis club by five burly security guards, who had to restrain him as he lunged angrily at a female British journalist.
He had earlier repeatedly called her stupid and later launched a volley of abuse, calling her ‘ugly’ and a ‘whore’. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said he will play no further part in the World Group Two play-off, which continues today.
ITF president David Haggerty said: ‘This is unacceptable behaviour by a Fed Cup captain. No player, official, member of the media or fan should have to endure any kind of abuse. A formal investigation is already under way and any decision or sanction will be made by the ITF’s adjudication panel.’
Nastase was apparently furious at the British media reporting a comment he made about Serena Williams’ unborn baby in a pre-tournament press conference on Friday, for which he was already under investigation by the ITF. He also twice asked Keothavong for her hotel room number, making the 33-year-old GB captain, who is 18 weeks pregnant, feel uneasy.
‘I was put in a very awkward situation and no woman should be expected to listen to that or hear that or be told that,’ she said. ‘Anyone who was there felt uncomfortable.’
The first rubber of the match passed without incident, with Simona Halep beating Heather Watson 6-4, 6-1.
It was then the turn of British No1 Konta against Cirstea, a late replacement for the injured Irina-Camelia Begu. World No7 Konta was one set up and in control when she appeared to be distracted by interruptions from the crowd.
The umpire, Jaume Campistol of Spain, warned the crowd about respecting the players. Nastase, 70, angrily responded: ‘It’s not the opera, what’s your f***ing problem?’
He was warned about his language but as he continued to argue with the official he was sent to the stand and then dismissed from the court by tournament referee Andreas Egli, of Switzerland, who he called a ‘f***ing a ****** e.’
As he left the court, Nastase turned to face Keothavong and Konta, twice referring to them as ‘f***ing bitches.’ The match resumed for one game, and with Konta in tears she dropped her serve. Keothavong intervened at that stage, claiming the match could not continue and play was suspended, much to the chagrin of the Romanian team.
Halep addressed the 1,700-strong crowd and appealed for calm but Cirstea later accused Konta of crying to stop the match. ‘If you want to stop the match, stop it at 2-1, not at 3-1 when Johanna starts crying,’ she said.
‘I’ve played all over the world, they called me from gypsy to bitch to a ****** e to idiot. I never cried and left the court, I stay there and I play. Then when she came back on court she said to me: “I’m sorry”. So she knew she exaggerated.
‘I don’t think the crowd did anything. Everyone was so nice, we treated you guys so nice. I don’t feel it’s right that you put all this on us because we’re a lower country than England. Next time I’m in trouble I will cry and then maybe I can go off the court.’
The match resumed after a 20-minute delay, and Konta won the next five games, racing to a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Cirstea.
‘I’m proud of how I was able to regroup,’ said Konta. ‘It has left me a little bit unnerved but I just love the sport and was glad I was able to compete. It was just unfortunate that I think the crowd took initiative from the Romanian captain’s behaviour, the abusive language of everybody who was involved snowballed, quite frankly.’
Nastase has a history of bad behaviour and his outbursts will call into question the wisdom of giving him the most senior coaching position for women’s tennis in Romania. ‘Given his previous history — and I don’t want to point direct blame at anyone — maybe it could have been pre-empted,’ added Keothavong.
Konta goes up against Halep in today’s opening tie, with Watson and Begu likely to face each other in the second tie. But it could be decided by the doubles match, which is last on court.