Ilie Năstase

Ilie Theodoriu Năstase (born 19 July 1946) is a Romanian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the inaugural world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 40 weeks. Năstase is one of ten players to have won over 100 total ATP-level titles, with 64 in singles and 45 in doubles, among which seven majors: two in singles, three in men's doubles and two in mixed doubles. He also won four Masters Grand Prix year-end championships. He was the first professional sports figure to sign an endorsement contract with Nike, doing so in 1972. Năstase also wrote several novels in French in the 1980s, and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1991. At the beginning of his career in 1966, Năstase traveled around the world competing with Ion Țiriac. They represented Romania in the Davis Cup competition, being runners up in 1969, 1971, and 1972. In singles, Năstase won his first tournament at Cannes on 16 April 1967. His first victories against top players happened in 1969 in Stockholm, where he defeated Tony Roche and Stan Smith. Năstase became one of the best players in 1970, with many experts ranking him as the sixth-best player in the world at that time, behind the Australians Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, John Newcombe, and Tony Roche and the American Arthur Ashe. Năstase's high ranking resulted from his success at the Italian Open in Rome and at the U.S. Indoor Open in Salisbury, Maryland. With Tiriac, Năstase won the men's doubles title at the French Open. In 1971, Năstase was the runner-up at the French Open, where he lost the final in four sets to Jan Kodeš. In December, Năstase won his first Masters Grand Prix title, finishing in front of Stan Smith in a round robin competition.