Ilie Nastase wanted to have fun when he couldn’t when he was younger.
Ilie Nastase was given a suspended prison sentence. PDO
Tennis legend Ilie Nastase, 77, says that he gave a frank explanation in court about his driving. A Romanian newspaper reported on the matter ProSport.
In 2019, Nastase received an eight-month suspended prison sentence for driving under the influence of alcohol. In front of the court, he tried to mitigate his sentence with a joking answer.
The judge simply asked Nastase why he was drinking before jumping behind the wheel.
The ex-star said he just wanted to get back the youthful years he lost in his sports career. He wanted to celebrate when he didn’t get the chance to before.
– I didn’t drink any alcohol until I was 39 years old. After matches and tournaments, I went to a bar where I met people, but I always drank from the chef.
– I also want to be normal and socialize.
The judge was confused at first by the answer and asked Nastase to be honest. This remained the case.
According to Tenniskonkar, the judge found the answer amusing, but it didn’t help. The verdict still came.
Nastase was the number one player in the world tennis rankings in 1973–1974. He is a two-time Grand Slam winner and collected nearly two million euros in prize money during his career.