"I learned a lot from Ilie Nastase; some good, some bad...he's a godfather" - Jimmy Connors on relationship with Romanian legend

Jimmy Connors recently spoke about his friendship with Ilie Nastase following his feature in the documentary film 'Nasty', which chronicles the Romanian's life and tennis career.

Connors and Nastase were two of the biggest stars on the ATP tour in the 1970s. The two players faced off 27 times, with the latter leading their rivalry by a close margin of 15-12. They also teamed up in doubles often, winning eight titles together — two of which came at 1973 Wimbledon and the 1975 US Open.

Speaking on his 'Advantage Connors' podcast, Jimmy Connors' son Brett informed him that he was featured in Ilie Nastase's 2024 documentary Nasty. In response, the American expressed happiness at his footage being used in the film.

The eight-time Major winner also disclosed that the Romanian legend had taught him the ropes when he was finding his feet on the men's tour, and that he was always kind to him and his family.

"You know, it's interesting Brett, I'm not... that's not my thing to go and do it. If you're a friend, I'll be happy to do it," Jimmy Connors said (6:41). "But, you know, going and having the opportunity to talk about 'Nasty', you know, I got into that and I got so animated. And talking about him, because he's such a friend.

"And, you know, he took me under his wing, when I was 15-16 years old and kind of guided me around the tour," he added (7:16). "Not only on the court, but off the court too. I learnt a lot from Nasty, you know. Some good, some bad. But I learnt a lot from him, and his friendship and playing doubles with him. And hanging with him, you know, just being able to sit around with him... His friendship and he's a godfather, and you know, the way he is with me and my family was pretty amazing to talk about."

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"When Ilie Nastase played, the stands were full of players" - Jimmy Connors

Jimmy Connors [Center] and Ilie Nastase [Extreme Right] at an ATP event

During the interaction, Jimmy Connors also dived deeper into Ilie Nastase's influence on tennis. The 71-year-old maintained that while the Romanian's on-court theatrics were a big part of his appeal, his peers often flocked the stands to watch his "genius" shotmaking.

"Even beyond that, what he did for the game. There's a lot of criticism on his documentary, you know," Jimmy Connors said (8:28). "But the attention, and the excitement, and what he brought to tennis...he was the only guy, that when he played the stands were full of players. They wanted to definitely go and watch his genius, but they wanted to see what else he got."

The American added that many players would get away with their questionable behavior back then, not unlike the mercurial Nastase.

"You know, that was just a bonus. Like I said, we all stepped over the line back in those days. You know why? Because we could!" he added (9:03). So we took advantage of that, but that's what brought in the crowds. Like it or not, whenever he played there wasn't one empty seat in the stands."