It was meant to be a weekend where Romania could showcase their best women’s players on home soil. Instead, it has turned into a weekend of disarray due to the incompetence of their own Fed Cup captain – Ilie Nastase.
Anxiety about the behaviour of the 70-year-old started on Friday during a somewhat controversial press briefing. Firstly, he asked the British team captain, Anne Keothavong, for her number. Admittedly, it was a joke and a very ‘Nastase’ thing to do for those that have followed his life. Still, concerns were raised as the former top-50 player was seen visibly uncomfortable when he spoke to her. At that time people were bemused, but nobody knew it was only the start of things.
Here’s Nastase asking Keothavong for her room number. You’ll have to lip read but it’s not difficult pic.twitter.com/uft5uzoblK
— Eleanor Crooks (@EleanorcrooksPA) April 21, 2017
The two-time grand slam champion continued his questionable behaviour when his team was speaking about Serena Williams’ pregnancy. Nastase had previous accused the former world No.1 of using illegal substances during her tennis career. An allegation that had never been supported by any proof.
“Let see what colour it has. Chocolate with milk?” He said when the topic of Williams’ pregnancy arose.
So not only was the man, who had won over 100 ATP titles, under scrutiny for sexism. He was then accused by some of racism. The ITF swiftly responded to Nastase’s comments by pledging to investigate into the issue.
“The ITF does not tolerate discriminatory and offensive language and behaviour of any kind.” They told the BBC.
A controversy followed by a disaster
Proudly the chiefs of Romanian tennis continued to stand behind their man. That was until he produced some of the worst behaviour from a Fed Cup captain in the tournaments 54-year history. British player Johanna Konta was leading Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 1-2, in the second match on Saturday. The British camp was complaining about the crowd, which caused an explosion of emotion from the Romanian captain.
“What’s your fucking problem?” The fouled-mouth 70-year-old said.
Proceeding to call Konta and Keothavong ‘bitches’, he was eventually banned from the court. Suddenly the Fed Cup tie turned into a war zone. The match then had a 20-minute suspension due to Konta crying. Amid the chaos, local hero Simona Halep was forced to step in as a peacemaker with the crowd.
“On behalf of the team, please do not swear, speak nicely, because we will be disqualified and we cannot do anything. We have to respect, have fair play and play … It’s just a tennis match and the match is playing on the ground. Please be nice to respect both players and, of course, the opposing team.” Digisport reported Halep as saying.
Konta returned to the court to battle back for a straight sets win. It was a bittersweet victory with Cristea accusing her of deliberately ‘exaggerating’ the situation to halt the match.
Ilie Nastase perde la testa a Costanza durante il match di #FedCup tra Cirstea e Konta e viene espulso! Ecco che cosa è successo oggi👇 pic.twitter.com/KkHZcfnGKp
— SuperTennis TV (@SuperTennisTv) 22 April 2017
A national embarrassment
For a player who has a wealth of experience in the world of tennis, Nasatse’s behaviour is both shocking and baffling. Instead of focusing on his teams quest to qualify for the World Group, his bad temper ruined his teams morale and hammered a dent in the reputation of Romanian tennis.
It is an outcome that Nastase’s homeland doesn’t deserve. Currently the country has five women’s ranked in the world’s top 100. One example of the talent of the Romanian contingent was illustrated last year at the Madrid Open. Three players reached the last eight in the Premier event, which was won by Halep.
It is only hoped that the people who selected the controversy-stricken Nastase have learned from their lesson. He is certainly a man to praise for his historical achievements on the men’s tour, but in the Fed Cup he is sadly more of a liability. A somewhat harsh, but sober conclusion.
Nastase is now suspended from the Fed Cup pending an investigation from the ITF. It seems impossible that he will return in the same position as captain. If he did, it will likely attract more unwelcome negativity.
The world of tennis will now move on from this fiasco, but they should never forget the events of 22/4/17. Tennis federations spend years building up their reputation, but a day of stupidity can put it all in jeopardy. This is why Nastase must step aside before more damage is caused.
