"I wanted to punch this big, stupid Romanian in the nose" - When 9-year-old Andre Agassi got angry at Ilie Nastase during a hitting session
Andre Agassi once admitted that Ilie Nastase angered him to such an extent that he wanted to punch him.
The incident dates back to Agassi's childhood days. The American's father Emmanuel was a boxer who represented his native country Iran in two Olympics. Emmanuel later moved to Las Vegas and became the captain of a casino that was frequented by several tennis players.
That enabled Agassi to hit with the likes of Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg from a very young age. He became a ballboy at the now-defunct Alan King Tennis Classic by the age of nine.
It was at this time that he took a liking to one of the ball girls, Wendi Stewart, who he later dated.
Agassi revealed in his book, "Open: An Autobiography," that he was hitting with Ilie Nastase while Stewart was watching from the net. Once the Romanian spotted her, he called Agassi "Snoopy" and asked him if she was his girlfriend.
Agassi wrote that he wanted to punch Nastase because he talked about Stewart in a disrespectful manner.
"As Nastase and I hit, Wendi watches from the net post. I’m nervous, Nastase is visibly bored— until he spots Wendi. Hey, he says. Is this your girlfriend, Snoopy? Is this pretty thing over here your sweetheart? I stop. I glare at Nastase," Andre Agassi wrote.
"I want to punch this big, stupid Romanian in the nose, even though he’s got two feet and 100 pounds on me. Bad enough that he calls me Snoopy, but then he dares to mention Wendi in such a disrespectful way," he added.
Agassi went on to describe how a crowd of around 200 people gathered as Nastase started to tease him about Stewart while repeatedly calling him Snoopy. He further mentioned that the moment the Romanian made another remark about his future girlfriend, he dropped his racket and walked off the court.
"A crowd has gathered, two hundred people at least. Nastase begins playing to the crowd, calling me Snoopy again and again, teasing me about Wendi. And I thought my father was relentless. At the very least, I wish I had the courage to say: Mr. Nastase, you’re embarrassing me, please stop. But all I can do is keep hitting harder. Hit harder," Agassi wrote.
"Then Nastase makes yet another wisecrack about Wendi, and that’s it, I can’t take any more. I drop my racket and walk off the court. Up yours, Nastase," he added.
Andre Agassi won 8 Grand Slam singles titles while Ilie Nastase won 2
Andre Agassi and Ilie Nastase are two of the best players to have ever graced the tennis court, and both achieved a lot of success in the sport.
But when it comes to winning Grand Slams Agassi was the more successful player, with eight Major titles over the course of his career. The American won the Australian Open four times and the US Open twice, while winning the French Open and Wimbledon once each.
Nastase, meanwhile, won two Grand Slam singles titles - at the French Open and the US Open. He also captured five Major doubles titles, three in men's doubles and two in mixed doubles.