Ilie Nastase hit the headlines for the wrong reason a few weeks ago after he made a controversial joke about Serena Williams’ unborn child and he insulted the GB Fed Cup captain Anne Keothavong and Jo Konta during a Fed Cup tie. The Romanian was expelled from the Arena, he was banned by the Roland Garros, and he will not be invited in Wimbledon.
“I admire and respected Nastase.”
Steve Simon has heavily criticized Nastase’s presence during the Madrid final (won by Halep). Even if Nastase is not “the best friend” anymore of the WTA, Simona defends Ilie. During a recent interview, the Romanian commented
“I have always admired and respected him for what he has done in tennis. For me, it’s like the best player in Romania, in history, and I was happy that he was coming to my matches and supporting me. I love to have him around, yeah, but this is my personal opinion. Nothing to do with the decision that ITF took. They know what they will do in the future about the fact that he was on the court [in Madrid].”
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