Nastase Turns 80: "Sinner Is the Best"

Ilie Nastase celebrated his eightieth birthday by bluntly endorsing the champion who dominates tennis today: "Right now he's the best." The Romanian, born on 19 July 1946, praised Jannik Sinner above all for his mental solidity and the progress on his serve, which in his view has become a now phenomenal shot.

It's no small endorsement, considering who's giving it. Nastase was the first world number one in the history of the ATP rankings, when the computer replaced the hand-compiled standings in August 1973. Over his career he won two Slam titles, the 1972 US Open and 1973 Roland Garros, as well as four editions of the year-end Masters and 64 singles tournaments in total.

On his birthday he also reflected on his relationship with Italy, a bond that has lasted half a century. A great friend of Adriano Panatta and Paolo Bertolucci, Nastase recalled with irony his matches against the Italians in Rome, when sandwiches would fly onto the court from the stands: "I'd pick them up and eat them."

True to an image he has cultivated since the 1970s, the former champion summed up his philosophy in a phrase that sounds almost like a manifesto: "I always played to have fun." No regrets, he explained, because for him winning a tournament was always worth more than a spot in the rankings.