Although the portrait of the Romanian tennis icon from the 1970s made its debut in Cannes, its premiere in Karlovy Vary also had an exclusive feel. Before the screening of his autobiography Nasty by the directorial trio Tudor Giurgiu, Cristian Pascariu and Tudor D. Popescu, the witty, eccentric and at times explosive Ilie Năstase said dreamily: “I have never been to a city more beautiful than Karlovy Vary.” And he added a spicy memory: “Years ago I played here with your president Václav Klaus. He told me he had other talents besides tennis, and I believed him.”
The winner of two Grand Slam titles and a total of fifty-three ATP singles tournaments brought a sense of rebellion into the fossilised world of tennis and became the first tennis “rock star”. “Don’t ask me about women, I’ve been married five times,” said the 77-year-old tennis player, laughing. The documentary portrait reveals how Năstase was, in many ways, ahead of his time, inspiring many not only in the Eastern Bloc to join this once-elitist sport. His notorious antics, on the other hand, contributed to the standardisation of tennis rules. “The more I watch the film, the more I like it. I could watch it forever. But I don’t envy today’s players, times have changed. I’m glad I played back then,” Năstase recalled in Pupp, which for 90 minutes turned into an imaginary tennis court on Tuesday night.
