"John McEnroe called me 'Son of a b*tch'" - Ilie Nastase recalls his tactic to "annoy" American in heated US Open 1979 clash amid default controversy

Romanian tennis legend Ilie Nastase recently reminisced about his contentious clash with John McEnroe at the 1979 US Open. The thrilling encounter was rife with drama, as Nastase faced disqualification before a change in umpire allowed play to continue, much to McEnroe's displeasure.

That year, McEnroe entered the US Open as the third seed, on the hunt for his maiden Grand Slam title. Following his dominant win over Pavel Slozil in his opening match, he took on former World No. 1 Nastase in the second round. The match took a controversial turn when the then-33-year-old attempted to disrupt the American's rhythm with his constant complaints and slow speed of play.

During a recent appearance on the Tennis Legend podcast, Ilie Nastase revisited the clash, admitting that he made a deliberate effort to annoy John McEnroe by wasting time. The Romanian was successful in his endeavor, as McEnroe called him a "son of a b*tch" in a moment of frustration.

"He called me, 'Son of a b*tch.' And I replied, 'Mister son of a b*tch.' It was in 1979. I was 33 years old. I wanted to annoy him. I started walking slowly, wasting time. The umpire asked me, 'Are you hurt?' I said, 'No, I’m just walking slowly because I’m old,'" Nastase said.

Fed up with Nastase's delaying antics, the American appealed to the chair umpire to penalize the former World No. 1. After repeatedly warning the Romanian and even handing him a game penalty, umpire Frank Hammond eventually disqualified Nastase in the fourth set.

"McEnroe was getting angry and he asked the umpire to penalize me. The umpire then disqualified me," he added.

However, the decision caused chaos as the crowd of 15,000 began descending the stands to demand refunds, necessitating the need for police presence on the court. As the situation escalated, Hammond consulted with the tournament referee.

"The stadium was full, there were 15,000 spectators. They started coming down because they wanted refunds. Suddenly, the police came onto the court. The umpire was Frank Hammond, a good umpire and he called the head referee," Nastase recalled.

Ilie Nastase recounted how the referee chastised chair umpire Frank Hammond for creating a "huge mess" by defaulting the Romanian, leaving him with no option but to bring in a new umpire and resume the match.

"What do I do with all these people?" the referee asked.

"I don’t know but I’ve already disqualified him, I can’t do anything else," Hammond said.

"Frank you’ve put me in a huge mess. I’ll put another umpire in and the match will continue," the referee responded.

John McEnroe was angered by the decision to overturn Nastase's disqualification, asserting that he did not wish to continue playing. However, after being warned that he would be "thrown out" if he didn't comply, the American calmed down and allowed play to resume.

"McEnroe started yelling, 'No, I don’t want to play.' The umpire firmly told him, 'If you don’t play, I’ll throw you out.' He calmed down and the match resumed," Nastase said.

John McEnroe eventually claimed a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Ilie Nastase to advance to the third round of the US Open.

"We drank a beer and eventually ended up at the same table" - Ilie Nastase on the aftermath of his contentious US Open 1979 clash with John McEnroe

John McEnroe (Source: Getty)

Ilie Nastase also shed light on the aftermath of his contentious clash with John McEnroe at the 1979 US Open, disclosing that they both ended up at McDonald's after the late finish.

Although Nastase initially maintained a distance from McEnroe and his companions, they eventually put aside their differences and shared a table over a glass of beer.

"When we finished, it was 1:00 am. I decided to go to McDonald’s with a friend. When I walked in, McEnroe was there with two girls, his girlfriend and another girl. We sat two meters away from him. We drank a beer and eventually ended up at the same table. That’s how it ended," Nastase said during the same podcast.

John McEnroe went on to clinch his maiden Grand Slam title at the New York Major that year, beating Jimmy Connors 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 in the semifinals and securing a 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 win over Vitas Gerulaitis in the final.