NASTASE IN FED CUP FURORE
Racism, sexism, fondling … even by Nastase’s abysmally low standards, this was an outrage
THE Great Britain team had been warned to expect erratic behaviour from a man who was nicknamed Nasty as a player and is known for loud and unseemly outbursts courtside.
But even that could not prepare them for the disturbing behaviour of Romania’s Fed Cup captain Ilie Nastase at a pre-tournament media conference here in this Black Sea resort.
Romania’s No1 player Simona Halep was asked for her reaction to the announcement this week that 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams is 20 weeks pregnant.
News that reigning Wimbledon champion Williams is expecting her first child with fiance Alexis Ohanian, who is white and of Armenian descent, came as a surprise especially as she won the Australian Open while eight weeks pregnant.
Halep said: ‘I think it’s a good thing for her. It’s nice to have a kid. I wish her the best in life, she was a great player and in my opinion she will come back and win more tournaments.’
But while she was answering in English, Nastase said, as an aside in Romanian: ‘Let’s see what colour it has. Chocolate with milk?’
The other three players in the Romania squad at the press conference — Irina-Camelia Begu, Sorana Cirstea and Monica Niculescu — had little choice but to smile politely. It comes two weeks after Nastase, who has been Fed Cup captain since October, made unsubstantiated and outrageous comments about Williams’ physique resembling that of a doper.
Nastase has a history of making seemingly racist remarks. In 2010 he was fined by Romania’s National Council Against Discrimination for saying French president Nicolas Sarkozy was right to deport Roma people. He has also admitted calling Arthur Ashe ‘negroni’ when the pair played together, although in his autobiography Mr Nastase, he insisted this was intended as a term of endearment.
The 70-year-old, who has been married four times and has boasted of sleeping with 800 to 900 women, also admitted treating female players differently. ‘I don’t get angry, especially with the girls,’ he said. ‘If I was with the boys, maybe, but because I am with the girls I have to behave.’
The two-time Slam champion is also being investigated by the International Tennis Federation after asking Anne Keothavong, 33, for her hotel room number while the pair were having a photograph taken together at a pre-event press conference.
Nastase swung his arm tightly round the GB captain and said: ‘We keep being attracted.’
Keothavong was already aware of Nastase’s problematic character, stating in an interview last month: ‘Don’t worry. I come from a Hackney council estate and I can give as good as I get.’
She dismissed him with a withering smile and looked uncomfortable, though not rattled. Of more concern was the miserable weather on Romania’s southeastern coast which has interrupted the team’s practice schedule since they arrived on Tuesday.
The wind and rain-lashed clay court at the IDU tennis club is expected to have recovered in time for play to start an hour behind schedule.
With all the Romanian women playing on their favoured clay surface and in front of a home crowd, Keothavong is aware Britain face a huge challenge as they attempt to end a 24-year wait to reach the elite level of the Fed Cup. ‘It’s going to be tough,’ she said. ‘It’s the first matches on clay for everyone, we’re playing away with what I understand is a sell-out crowd but it’s something we’re all going to embrace. The Romanians will feel the pressure and it’s up to us to take advantage of that and give it a good shot,’ she added. ‘I don’t see any reason why an upset isn’t possible this weekend because we have players who are more than capable of producing great tennis on any given day.’
An ITF Statement said: ‘The ITF does not tolerate discriminatory and offensive language and behaviour of any kind. We are aware of alleged comments made by Romanian captain Ilie Nastase and have begun an immediate investigation.’
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic last night suffered a shock 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 defeat by Belgium’s world No13 David Goffin in the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals.
HE is the original bad boy of tennis. And at 70, it appears that Ilie ‘Nasty’ Nastase has not mellowed with age.
The former world number one made a series of questionable remarks at a tennis event yesterday which managed to embroil him in rows over both sexism and racism.
He twice interrupted a press conference to pester the captain of the British women’s team for her room number, saying: ‘We keep being attracted.’
The incident left former British number one Anne Keothavong, 33 – who is 18 weeks pregnant with her second child – cringeing with embarrassment.
Nastase – who has previously boasted of having as many as 900 notches on his bedpost ‘including the ugly ones’ – made matters worse when he loudly joked about what colour American tennis star Serena Williams’s baby would be, suggesting ‘chocolate with milk’.
Last night the International Tennis Federation threatened action against him, saying it would not tolerate ‘discriminatory and offensive language and behaviour’.
Nastase made his comments in his Romanian homeland at the press conference for this weekend’s clash with Britain in the Fed Cup, the world cup of female tennis.
Miss Keothavong had spoken in advance about the prospect of coming face to face with infamous Nastase, who captains the Romanian team – and claimed she was ready for him.
Last month when asked if she was nervous about battling Nastase courtside, she said: ‘Don’t worry. I come from a Hackney council estate and I can give as good as I get.’
But she was evidently thinking of his aggressive side, not his reption- utation as a shameless lothario. Yesterday as the pair came together in front of the press in the Black Sea resort of Constanta, Nastase, who has boasted before of his love of younger women, clearly had matters other than tennis on his mind.
As the opposing captains posed for photos, he twice asked Miss Keothavong what her hotel room number was – and despite her obvious unhappiness, put his arm tightly around her and said: ‘We keep being attracted.’
Miss Keothavong, who was born in London to Laotian immigrant parents, looked uncomfortable and gave him a withering smile.
Nastase’s other gaffe came when one of his players was asked to comment on this week’s revela- that the black American tennis superstar Serena Williams is 20 weeks pregnant. While the player was answering, Nastase speculated in Romanian about what colour the baby would be, saying: ‘Let’s see what colour it has. Chocolate with milk?’ Miss Williams’ fiance Alexis ohanian, co-founder of the Reddit website, is white.
A spokesman for the International Tennis Foundation said: ‘The ITF does not tolerate discriminatory and offensive language and behaviour of any kind.
‘We are aware of alleged comments made by Romanian captain Ilie Nastase and have begun an immediate investigation so that we have the full facts of the situation before taking further and appropriate action.’
Nastase had also said yesterday that he treated women players differently from men. Responding to a question about how angry he becomes, he said: ‘I don’t get angry, especially with the girls. If I was with the boys, maybe, but because I am with the girls I have to behave.’
The player is no stranger to controversy. Six years ago he was fined for discriminatory behaviour in Romania after supporting the then French president Nicolas Sarkozy for deporting Roma gipsies.
And he has had to insist his nickname for black American tennis star Arthur Ashe, ‘negroni’, was an endearment.
Nastase, whose fourth wife Brigitte is 30 years his junior, has talked publicly of his love of younger women. He said: ‘Generally, women are beautiful when they are young. It is very rare you see a woman who’s 45 or 50 who looks great and in good shape.’
‘I don’t get angry with the girls’