Ilie Theodoriu Năstase is a Romanian former world No. 1 tennis player. He held the top singles spot from 23 August 1973 to 2 June 1974, and was the first man to hold the position on the computerized ATP rankings. Năstase is one of the 10 players in history who have won over 100 total ATP titles, with 64 in singles and 45 in doubles. Năstase won seven major titles: two in singles, three in men's doubles and two in mixed doubles. He also won four Masters Grand Prix year-end championship titles. He was the first professional sports figure to sign an endorsement contract with Nike, doing so in 1972. Năstase wrote several novels in French in the 1980s, and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1991.
Clark Graebner is a retired American professional tennis player.
The ITF Grand Prix Circuit was a professional tennis tour for male players that existed founded in 1970 as the ILTF Grand Prix Tennis Circuit it ran annually until 1989 when it and WCT Circuit were replaced by a single world wide ATP Tour.
World Championship Tennis (WCT) was a tour for professional male tennis players established in 1968 and lasted until the emergence of the ATP Tour in 1990. A number of tennis tournaments around the world were affiliated with WCT and players were ranked in a special WCT ranking according to their results in those tournaments.
The 1970 Masters was a tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan. It was the first edition of the year-end Masters Grand Prix and was held from December 9 through December 15, 1970. The event included a singles and doubles draw, both of which were held in a round robin format. Stan Smith won the first singles title and then partnered Arthur Ashe to the doubles title as well.
The 1975 Masters was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at the Kungliga tennishallen in Stockholm, Sweden. The tournament was the season ending event of the 1975 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix circuit and was played by the eight highest ranking singles players and the four highest ranked doubles teams. It was the 6th edition of the Masters Grand Prix and was held from November 30 through December 7, 1975. Ilie Năstase won the singles title and the $40,000 first prize.
The 1974 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix was a professional tennis circuit administered by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) which served as a forerunner to the current Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour. The circuit consisted of the four modern Grand Slam tournaments and open tournaments recognised by the ILTF. The season-ending Commercial Union Assurance Masters and Davis Cup Final are included in this calendar but did not count towards the Grand Prix ranking.
The 1972 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix was a professional tennis circuit held that year and organized by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF). It consisted of 33 Grand Prix tournaments in different categories including three of the four Grand Slam tournaments and was followed by a season-ending Masters tournament. The circuit ran from February through November.
The 1971 Pepsi Cola Grand Prix was a professional tennis circuit held that year. It incorporated three of the four Grand Slam tournaments, the Grand Prix tournaments. It was the second edition of the Grand Prix circuit and was run by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ITLF). In addition to regular tournament prize money a bonus prize money pool of £60,000 ($150,000) was available to be divided among the 20 highest ranking players after the last tournament. To be eligible for a share of the bonus pool a player had to compete in a minimum of nine tournaments. The circuit culminated in a Masters event in Paris for the seven highest point scoring players. Stan Smith was the winner of the circuit with 187 ranking points and four tournament victories.
The 1970 Pepsi-Cola ILTF Grand Prix was a tennis circuit administered by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) which served as a forerunner to the current Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour. It was the inaugural edition of the Grand Prix circuit and consisted of men's tournaments recognised by the ILTF. The creation of the Grand Prix circuit, on an experimental basis during its first year, was announced in April 1970 by the president of the ILTF, Ben Barnett. It was the brainchild of Jack Kramer, former tennis promoter and winner of the Wimbledon and US championships, and was aimed at countering the influence of commercial promoters, particularly Lamar Hunt and his World Championship Tennis circuit and George MacCall's National Tennis League.
The 1971 Swedish Open was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts held in Båstad, Sweden. The event was classified as a Group C category tournament and was part of the 1971 Grand Prix circuit. It was the 24th edition of the tournament and was held from 5 July through 11 July 1971. Ilie Năstase and Helga Masthoff won the singles titles.
The 1970 Italian Open also known as the Italian Open Championships was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament that was played on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. The men's tournament was initially part of the Grand Prix circuit but was withdrawn during the tournament when it became known that the organizers had paid management fees to the competing World Championship Tennis (WCT) organization in order for the WCT players to participate. The women's tournament was a non-tour event, i.e. not part of the Virginia Slims Circuit. The tournament was held from 20 April through 27 April 1970. The singles titles were won by Ilie Năstase and Billie Jean King.
The 1971 Embassy British Indoor Championships was a combined men's and women's Grand Prix tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. The event was categorized as a B Class tournament and was the 4th edition of the British Indoor Championships in the Open era. The tournament took place at the Wembley Arena in London in England and ran from 23 October through 30 October 1971.
The 1971 Monte Carlo Open was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Monte Carlo Country Club in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France. The men's tournament was part of the 1971 Pepsi-Cola Grand Prix circuit. It was the 65th edition of the event and was held from 12 April through 17 April 1971. Ilie Năstase and Gail Chanfreau won the singles titles.
The 1972 U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships was a men's tennis tournament held at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center in Salisbury, Maryland in the United States. The event was part of the 1972 USLTA Indoor Circuit and was also a Grade B event on the 1972 Grand Prix Circuit. It was the second edition of the tournament and was held from February 13 through February 20, 1972, and played on indoor hard courts. First-seeded national Stan Smith won the singles title and $9,000 first-prize money as well as 50 Grand Prix ranking points. It was his second singles title at the event after 1969.
The 1972 Nice International Championships, was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Nice Lawn Tennis Club in Nice, France that was part of Group D of the 1972 Grand Prix circuit. It was the second edition of the tournament and was held from 17 April until 23 April 1972. Ilie Năstase won the title.
The 1971 Nice International Championships, was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Nice Lawn Tennis Club in Nice, France that was part of Group D of the 1971 Grand Prix circuit. It was the inaugural edition of the tournament and was held from 29 March until 4 April 1971. Ilie Năstase won the title.
The 1971 Belgian Open Championships was a men's tennis tournament staged at the Leopold Club in Brussels, Belgium that was part of the Grand Prix circuit and categorized as a Group B event. The tournament was played on outdoor clay courts and was held from 17 May until 23 May 1971. It was the fifth edition of the tournament and Cliff Drysdale won the singles title.
The 1970 Campionati Internazionali di Sicilia, also known as the Palermo Open, was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts in Palermo, Italy. It was the 22nd edition of the tournament and was held in April 1970. It was an independent event, i.e. not part of the 1970 Grand Prix or World Championship Tennis circuits. István Gulyás won the singles title.
The 1972 National Indoor Championships, also known as the Hampton Indoor, was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at the Hampton Roads Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia in the United States that was part of Group C of the 1972 Grand Prix circuit as well as of the 1972 USLTA Indoor Circuit. It was the third edition of the tournament and was held from February 28 through March 5, 1972. First-seeded Stan Smith won the singles title and earned $9,000 first-prize money.
Ilie Năstase [1] 
