Shadow of a star / Ilie Năstase
In an unusual twist, a fountain pen in honour of the living celebrity Ilie Năstase has been created by the Italian company Montegrappa. The tennis star from Romania won the men's doubles at Roland Garros in the 1970s with Ion Tiriac and reached the Davis Cup final three times. Năstase won more than a hundred singles and doubles tournament titles in the 1970s and 1980s, was one of the fastest players of his time, renowned for his powerful serve and brilliant strokes, and entertained the crowd while playing. But the recent past of Romania's star is less glamorous. He could face several years in prison.
In 1971, he was personally received by Nicolae Ceausescu, who awarded him the highest decoration of the Order of Merit for Labour as a lieutenant. He also had his hair cut—at least partly—in honour of the occasion. Beside him was Ion Tiriac, later a banker, adjusting his decoration.
Recently, however, his scandals have put the tennis star in the headlines. In 2010, in an interview with the Romanian newspaper Gandul, he said that if he were Romania's head of state, he would resettle Romania’s Roma population in Harghita County, in the Hungarian-speaking Székely region, because this would change the ethnic balance of the region. After being fined for this by the anti-discrimination council (the equivalent of a hefty 41,300 lei), the billionaire star said he would pay the fine on one condition: ‘László Tőkés, the Hungarian MEP from Romania, must be put in prison’. According to Năstase, the then MEP of the Hungarian party in Romania (RMDSZ) had constantly insulted Romanians and his earlier statement that 1 December, the national holiday of Romanians, was a day of mourning for Hungarians, was inadmissible.
Despite this, in 2016 he was awarded the Order of the Star of Romania by President Klaus Iohannis. He also brought his 'good reputation' to the West. In 2017, Ilie Năstase was banned from the Wimbledon tennis tournament for racist and sexist remarks about Serena Williams, who was pregnant at the time. Năstase was heard to remark: ‘Let’s see what colour the baby will be. Milk chocolate?’ He later insulted Anne Keothavong, the British team captain, by asking which hotel room she was staying in during a joint photo shoot. Keothavong was married and expecting her second child. ‘We are still attracted to each other,’ added the 70-year-old Năstase.
In 2018, he was disqualified from driving for three months for drink-driving (Năstase admits he didn't drink until he was 30) and hours later he ran a red light on a scooter. For these offences he could get up to five years in prison.
About the fountain pen
The tennis rackets of the time were made of wood, which is what the wooden body of the pen resembles, with the tennis player's signature in red. The clip is also in the shape of a tennis racket, and the part of the cap below it is wrapped in a strip of leather, like the handle of a tennis racket. The three-coloured ring in front of the nib is reminiscent of Năstase's favourite bracelet in the Romanian national colours. The fountain pen case is a miniature copy of the athlete's tennis racquet case. A total of 780 numbered pens have been made and are currently on sale for one million forints. I have not yet seen this pen in Hungary.
Tamas Szucs / 2018