{"id":5404,"date":"2022-08-18T20:29:18","date_gmt":"2022-08-18T20:29:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/blog\/?p=5404"},"modified":"2022-08-18T20:29:18","modified_gmt":"2022-08-18T20:29:18","slug":"the-tennis-128-no-61-ilie-nastase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/blog\/2022\/08\/18\/the-tennis-128-no-61-ilie-nastase\/","title":{"rendered":"The Tennis 128: No. 61, Ilie N\u0103stase"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Ilie N\u0103stase in the 1972 Davis Cup final. <\/em>
Credit: The National Museum of Romanian History<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In 2022, I\u2019m counting down the 128 best players<\/a> of the last century. With luck, we\u2019ll get to #1 in December. Enjoy!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

* * *<\/p>\n\n\n\nIlie N\u0103stase [ROU]<\/b>\n
Born: 19 July 1946\n
Career: 1962-85\n
Plays: Right-handed (one-handed backhand)\n
Peak rank: 1 (1973)\n
Peak Elo rating: 2,256 (1st place, 1973) \n
Major singles titles: 2\n
Total singles titles: 98\n
 \n\n\n\n

* * *<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s a mystery you probably haven’t mulled over for a few decades: Did Ilie N\u0103stase throw his fourth-round match at Wimbledon in 1973?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1973 was the boycott year, when 81 men skipped Wimbledon to protest the International Lawn Tennis Federation’s suspension of Yugoslav player Niki Pili\u0107 for missing a Davis Cup tie. The recently-formed Association of Tennis Professionals–the ATP–objected. Functioning more as a player’s union than it does today, it wanted to have a say in disciplinary matters. The ILTF didn’t budge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

N\u0103stase was one of only a handful of ATP members to defy the boycott and play. He was a half-hearted participant in the union: he signed up but generally did whatever he wanted. When the organization fined him after the tournament, he explained that the Romanian Army–of which he was technically a captain–ordered him to play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was, by far, the best player left in the field. He had lost a thrilling five-set final to Stan Smith<\/a> the year before, and he had won seven of his last eight tournaments, including the French Open, the Italian Championships, and Queen’s Club. He should’ve coasted to the title. His competition consisted of a few fellow Eastern Europeans, some prospects (including Bj\u00f6rn Borg and Ilie’s doubles partner Jimmy Connors), and an armada of last-minute replacements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The overwhelming favorite barely made it to the second week. N\u0103stase lost his fourth-round match in four sets. His vanquisher was a 21-year-old American college star named Sandy Mayer, who had an injured thumb and was sneezing with hay fever. Mayer had plenty of promise, but he was nearly a decade away from reaching his career-best ranking. The day wasn’t covered in glory for anybody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speculation started immediately. Maybe the Romanian couldn’t have lost his opening<\/em> match on purpose: That would be too obvious. Mayer was the first opponent he faced who could plausibly beat him. N\u0103stase secretly supported the boycott–so the theory went–and lost at the first opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>