Ilie Nastase and Arthur Ashe

[@ecommoy]

Ce. Nastase quel talent naturel et quelle personnalité. Il n y en a plus des comme lui aujourd’hui ui

[@Kelveron]

Loving the single handed backhands by both guys. Two hugely talented players. Great match.

[@HomeAtLast501]

I play with a single-handed backhand. I learned to play in junior high at the end of the '70s, and everyone played with a single-handed back then. I can't adapt to a double-handed --- it seems unnatural to me. I love hearing the pop coming off of those wooden racquets --- everyone used wooden racquets back when I started playing.

[@abradfordajb]

Thanks for posting! I love watching these older matches .... they always remind me that the top players of these eras were every bit as talented as today's players in every way. From the '60's, 70's, 80's, doesn't matter. If you took a handful of the top players from then and put them into today's tournaments, hand them today's state-of-the-art rackets, gave them all of these nutritional/energy drinks that the players haul onto the court today, they'd all be vying for the same top-10 tour slots, and they'd be winning matches in the same manner they did back in their day. What a fantasy to imagine ........

[@Ariamaluum]

What a combo of touch and power displayed by both these players. Good job on the director and producer of creating good camera angles off shots.

[@nickhanlon9331]

Nastasse had his credit cards stolen.Asked why he hadn't reported it to the police he said the thief was spending less money on his credit card then his wife would've done.

[@michelbouttier8303]

pas compris

[@lovetoedit]

LAUGH OUT LOUD

[@danieldo9133]

Si ,si . Lui è un tipo scherzoso li piace fare le battute....lo conosco di persona te lo dice in una maniera molto seria 😅 Sa quella che voglia della vita.

[@jjanderson8235]

😂😂🤣

[@sătuldeprosti]

​@@danieldo9133yes îs drink drink Nastase

[@moniqueantoinette8106]

Mr. Ashe, you are not here in the physical but your passion for life lives on in me. Your words, “Start Where You Are, Use What You Have, Do What You Can”, helped me launch a dessert company I thought was too big to make happen. The words recently gave me the courage to launch my new show, “The Monique Antoinette Show. On the Season Premiere Show I gave honor to you during the Motivate segment. Thank you, thank you, so much for the contribution you’re still making. I love you.

[@michaelpacini1332]

The serve and volley style is extinct like the dinosaurs but it was so beautiful to watch Ashe and Nastase execute it to perfection. I miss it !

[@foshoucitron4595]

Mr Arthur Ashe left an unforgettable impression on the 13 year old french kid I was then. He was fluid yet powerful, and he oozed class, intelligence, and heart. A true human being. RIP.

[@mrbobevans]

I agree with your opinion. To me, Michael Stich was Arthur Ashe 2.0. There are so many similarities in their games. Stich's serve is identical to Ashe's.

[@bradhuskers]

@@mrbobevans Ashe was average. Nothing more

[@Mote78]

Brad rawsner Arthur Ashe was average? Baloney. Despite the many obstacles he faced including losing his mother at age 7 and not allowed to compete against caucasians in his youth, he rose to win three major titles: the US, the Australian and the Wimbledon championships. Then he suffered health problems which shortened his career but not his contributions to the sport. Moreover, he and his brother served in the US Army during the tragic Vietnam War. Ashe was a class act . Don’t go disparaging a national sports hero. That’s why the nation’s tennis stadium is named after him. My accomplishments pale compared to his...how about yours?

[@anodyne57]

@@bradhuskers's troll game, level: below average.

[@bradhuskers]

@Kurt Hirschler You are a low IQ fool when it comes to tennis. Arthur was average. Had he been white, no one would have cared. You pimp him cause he was black. We get that. But as for all time greats, he's mediocre. You moron

[@levdt]

Nastase was my hero since I read about him in the newspapers as a little boy in India - then I saw him play in England and I wasn't disappointed. He was infuriating, temperamental, random, conceited and sometimes bigoted - but no one I have seen before or since seemed so naturally gifted with a tennis racket (we should also remember he played with a wooden racket). Whenever he played in Wimbledon, whichever court he was on, it would be filled to overflowing - what a character and player!

[@user-jv9qz2bu1r]

there is a good video on YT of Nastase and Jimmy Connors (age 19) meeting for the first time at Wimbledon - there is one game in particular (in set 2 or 3) where he hit four amazing winners in succession to win the game and that stunned the crowd and the announcers.

[@Brian-xu9di]

Ahh, the good old days of serve and volley tennis. I remember it well. I always liked Nastase, had a lot of flair.

[@LotusABQ1]

Nasty was one of the most talented players to ever play the game.

[@atulkaul9665]

Nasty......supremely gifted tennis maestro, could hit a winner every ball to any part of the court.

[@rayanthemonstor324]

First time to see Nastase, he is absolutely one of Tennis legends and has great playing style

[@michaelnivens6267]

Ilie at the top of his game - one of the most amazing , talented tennis players I have ever seen

[@CSLee-yu6ht]

I saw them both play in person when I was a kid, it was awesome to see this video.

[@pietrogazzera5733]

Two elegant players without all those "Aaahhh", "Ooohhh", "Mmmhhh". That was tennis!

[@paolocolombo174]

The sound, the style, the class

[@Gutulay]

And now it is just pennis

[@ericfreeman5795]

I love that vintage serve technique. Low toss and hitting the ball at its apex. Today, many players toss the ball high and strike it on the way down. Both techniques work, but its fun to watch the classics play.

[@tendmkt4024]

Some solid tennis here. Lovely upload for the tennis history buffs. Not often u see such footage where the ball is so clear. Bravo.

[@greenwolfegreen6028]

This was a real pleasure to watch. It brings back old memories. Arthur Ashe was one of the All-time greats. He had all the strokes and when he put them together he could beat anyone. but he was a greater humanitarian and that is why we remember him. Nastase was the only player of whom it may be said, "He was too great in skill to ever reach his potential." In other words, it was impossible for him to reach his own potential. I know that sounds crazy, and Nastase was. But its true.

[@carolinewilson8414]

nastase did not reach potential not because he had too much ... too much clowning like kygrios...and others

[@vicentesala9115]

Top 10 vintage clips, amazing... the tennis we enjoyed so much. How great was Ilie on court!

[@HarryCallaghan2008]

This is not tennis, this is ART...

[@beaglesrfun5896]

It's both.

[@cocolatin1]

Highligths

[@juanestebankruhsanmguel1960]

Federer is art

[@reinnegroni8462]

Juan Esteban Kruh Sanmguel Incorrect, it was Ashe!

[@gomezaddams4347]

Tennis was art before the giant racquets and poly strings ruined it. I used to call tennis physical chess. Now it’s just a war of attrition.

[@arnieus866]

I got my first color TV in 72. I was really excited to be able to see tennis like this. Thanks for the upload.

[@rustydemz7919]

Damn, color TV in 72? You were doin' pretty good! lol...

[@vicentesala9115]

Woowww! My two favourite players in the 70's. There are TOP3 tennis clips in the net: thisone, Laver vs Jimmy C and Ken Rosewall vs Tony Roche at Melbourne Centre Court. Thank you so much, this is a tennis gem. What a great tennis level displayed!

[@xander9564]

Both Ashe and Nastase are greats of tennis but there's something especially breathtaking about Nastase's speed, reflexes, and dexterity.

[@jesseburleson432]

Damn, Nastase is a fricken beast. Raw power.

[@perfectchaos0078]

Say what you want about Nastase's character, he was a legend on the tennis court.

[@connorduke4619]

He's got the fastest reflexes at the net of any player I've seen.

[@gsmantb]

What did he do character wise

[@amck72]

Hmmm I guess you never saw Boris Becker when he won Wimbledon in 1985 and 86`.

[@BelieveOnlyJesus]

Perfectchaos007 I saw him play live. Nastase would HAVE been a better player if he hadn’t been such as ASSHOLE!

[@trysis260]

so was Ashe that is a legend on the court and OFF the court

[@AlexandraZe]

As a Romanian I am very proud to see moments like these. I am a big fan of tennis and sometimes wish there were more Romanian players like him nowadays. Sure, nationality does not matter that much, I love all good players who give us great matches like these.

[@crispereira2020]

These two greats look like they could hold their own against any of the top players today

[@jongjongquenano3198]

I noticed too, just curious how strong they serve during that time....

[@neondiamondsaquaberry17]

@@jongjongquenano3198 placement of serve is often more important than speed of serve. These guys could slice angles, serve into the body and more. Todays era would still struggle with their serves.

[@seveglider8406]

On grass, they would destroy any of today's players. On clay, Nastase would do well against any of today's players. On hard courts, both would do very well against any of today's players.

[@Provemewrongwithfacts]

Two of the smoothest, most graceful tennis players of all-time, in their prime. And you can see the tennis ball, lol. Thanks.

[@steffanhoffmann8937]

All the modern greats I've seen. But for natural flair and instinctive play. (and with wooden rackets) Ilie Nastase was my favourite

[@rolandmarkland6844]

Arthur was the personification of class and character and the fact that he was a great player is almost secondary.

[@theoriginalthinker9199]

Beautiful, classic, elegant, serve and volley tennis.

[@KingCast65]

Hey I was an editor of the Call & Post Newspaper, an Ohio Statewide weekly when I interviewed Arthur in Cincinnati in 1989.... and part of that interview led me to law school.... which in some ways I wish I didn't know what I know but I'll still never regret it! Peace.

[@francoisbadelon6946]

Lucky to have talked to this great gentleman!

[@McClernand4]

what a genius Nastase was...and what a record he could have built up...

[@frankmcchrystal4029]

Nastase...greatest ever on any one given day.

[@Dman9fp]

Nah Laver or Gonzales from what I've seen & heard would've blown him off the court, also likely Borg. Not even the greatest of the 20th century, but top 10 for that time period Maybe

[@victorhugozanettazanetta9702]

Tenis de muy alta calidad. Dos jugadores exquisitamente técnicos. Un placer verlos.

[@jeffhermida4788]

love how fast these guys are playing. probably 2-3 seconds before each service motion. great tennis

[@ampiciline]

Tennis use to be an ART

[@maxovedo473]

yes right, not anymore . only federer the only aritst . the rest play baseball

[@fromanotherstar]

McEnroe and Nastase, the most talented players of all time....amazing

[@iamtman1]

Until Fed came along with more talent than both.

[@MrDESPREOCUPADO04]

And Mecir

[@willzsportscards]

@@iamtman1 I dunno dude. Different eras. McEnroe was considered by most the best doubles player of his era. Fed has amazing hands, but I've watched him play doubs multiple times at Indian Wells. Just doesn't have the instinctive movement at net that the great ones do.

[@iamtman1]

Fed has great instincts and movement everywhere on court. His touch is unbelievable too. Even McEnroe admits fed far superior than him.

[@michaelgarza8271]

@@willzsportscards Federer is an astonishing ball striker, but he's not in the same league as Mcenroe with his volleys. I agree with you.

[@Becksdad0803]

The rackets back then were crap compared to today. So them being able to play with those things is just as amazing as their tennis athletic ability.

[@theoriginalthinker9199]

Shut up. You don't know what you're talking about.

[@alanfrost75]

@@theoriginalthinker9199He knows exactly what he is talking about. The rackets back then were crap compared to the rackets of the 80s, never mind what they use today. Those rackets had sweet spots the size of a walnut, today it's the size of a fist.

[@theoriginalthinker9199]

@@alanfrost75 I'll tell you why he, and you, don't know what you're talking about. Tennis players have such hand/eye coordination, they don't need a huge racket head. Also, back then they hit through the ball more. Today, they have wicked, wristy topspin strokes that they need larger head rackets to minimize mishitting. I've forgotten more about tennis than you two will ever know.

[@alanfrost75]

@@theoriginalthinker9199 Well, at least your comment was good for a laugh. The reason they can hit the topspin that they hit these days is because of racket and string technology. If you knew shit about tennis, this would not be news to you. And the development in the size of the sweet spot helps immensely (Navratilova has a nice long explanation here on youtube if you want to educate yourself). Bottom line is, you cannot play the modern game with these rackets. You had to hit far more carefully, and because of the massively reduced topspin, you had to hit more for the lines than you do today. It is so absurd to even have to explain this to you. So many players - from Navratilova to Becker to McEnroe to Sampras have explained exactly how much technology has impacted the game. You think you forgot a lot about tennis - what you actually forgot is that you never knew shit.

[@theoriginalthinker9199]

@@alanfrost75 Haha, "good for a laugh" but of course you refuted nothing. How many times have i heard that one. The reason why they hit the topspin, knucklehead, has nothing to do with string, or racket, mumbo jumbo, it's because of the wicked wrist action they use. Look at Nadal. Players NEVER hit their forehands like that back then. Not even :Laver, Borg, or Vilas. The reason why they hit the shots they do, is because stroke production has changed drastically. There are no more classic, orthodox tennis players anymore. The closest person that comes to that is Federer, but he uses some whip as well. You're just some young punk, know it all, and of course, you know nothing.

[@StelaBadita]

Un om sportiv minunat❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@clarencemendonca579]

Heart warming to see two Legends of the game cross swords. Both, gifted with elegance, Nasty, the super athlete, King Arthur, professor like mathematician, who brought poetry to the game. Thank You

[@TheTopspin77]

This is great tennis with two great classic serve and volleyers. Thanks for putting this up!

[@nikita-dh5je]

The most heartbreaking loss ever, Ashe should have this match. He had virtual match point in the 4th set, but returned a second serve about 10 feet long. If he got that break point, he would win the match. He was overpowering Nastase, he should have won. Great to see Arthur come back in 1975 and win the big one at Wimbledon over Conners.

[@ericw3229]

Maybe that's s why he made some petty remarks after the match during the trophy ceremony. Classless

[@Dman9fp]

Not sure about Ever, Coria's or Roddick's biggest heartbreaks might be up there. But Ashe has apparently said he's woken up at night in a sweat over this match. It was mentioned in a tennis channel show. I can only imagine tho, with the huge pressures/ every championship match potentially defining your whole career, etc.

[@stephenstephen1505]

Note - no towelling after every shot, no deliberate delaying (though Nastase was the master of the manufactured delay) - simply getting on with the match. Current players take note

[@fabriziodefrancesco7876]

Two artists

[@gsmantb]

This is tennis, unlike the baseline robots today

[@steffanhoffmann8937]

Spot on

[@ken-mb5cp]

this was beautiful tennis.. Much nicer than what we have now

[@seveglider8406]

Today's tennis is BORING!

[@pramodkrishnamurthy3707]

Lovely post ! This is the kind of game that got me interested in tennis when i was a kid (and my dad's infectious enthusiasm, of course !)

[@dr.winstonsmith]

I miss wooden rackets. Much more varied shot selection and playmaking.

[@steffanhoffmann8937]

More skill also

[@FuentesJoaquin]

Wondferful from your part Mr Greenwolfe Green; I wish I had been born with these takents, both Mr Nastase and M Ashe......... touchedn by God !!!!!!!!

[@connorduke4619]

Nastase has the fastest reflexes at the net of any player I've seen. Faster even than McEnroe or Laver.

[@MrPernell27]

Bulshit!

[@lorenzo6mm]

@@MrPernell27 No. Its true. Nastase could jump over 4 feet straight up from a standing position. His quads we're/ARE legendary. I saw a John Newcombe and Ile Nastase play a private ( the 1970's) grudge match for a huge pile of money. Court side. Nastase moved as fast as a human being can inside the space of a court. The audience was pin drop quiet every time he moved that fast which wasn't always on his menu. Miloslav "The Cat" Mecir was his only real equal in that department. Ile Nastase may have been one of the fastest human beings alive ( to have ever lived), except for his on and off court antics which kind of ruined that mind blowing skill.

[@jjanderson8235]

@@lorenzo6mm Ilie at his prime had exceptional athleticism (speed) + talent. Saw him in 1973 up close on red clay (Toronto). Practicing volleys UNDERNEATH the stands .. unbelievable racquet skills. In an early round, he approached net and flipped racquet holding it's head to volley off the handle ... INSANE. Another volley bounced and came back onto his side. Etc ... he liked to fool around and just make up amazing shots.

[@lorenzo6mm]

@@jjanderson8235 Yes . I keep hoping more people will testify his skills. Thank you.

[@lorenzo6mm]

I have to relate the most amazing tennis shot I ever saw at the Wimbledon or maybe NY Forest Lawn Racquet club? for either the US Open or Wimbledon Title in the late 60' s or early 70's and Illie Nastase. They we're on grass courts. The infamous Bud Collins was calling the play, Nastase's opponent? I forget. Any way Nastase was in the foreground of the picture on TV behind the baseline chasing down a series of devastating corner to corner vollies by his ATTACKING opponent at the net. Typical excellent professional tennis you don't see much of today. Because they are AFRAID to ATTACK ! IMHO. Especially off well disguised and blistering first serves. But, I digress. Anyway........ Nastase had retrieved a very wide volley to his forehand side deep behind the baseline, sliding out of the picture frame...........to his right..... his opponent was waiting and delivered the "coup des grace"... killer volley to the very corner of Nastase's back hand court......the camera followed the shot........Bud Collins is calling this.... suddenly as the camera shows the ball bouncing up and out of the very deep corner of the court and IMAGE appears...."an apparition"......a human being with an out streached racket in his hand..... flying literally perfectly parallel to the court surface, maybe 4 ' UP IN THE AIR ........and began .........the perfectly executed back hand passing shot down the line for a total mind bending winner....ending with Nastatse landing PERFECTLY on his BELLY with his Dunlop Fort in his out streached hand......! and SMILING like a Cat that Just caught the MOUSE...! In a NANO second Nastase had appeared at one end of a Court in the next second the other end !!!!!!!!! the TIME elapsed from the blistering winning volley one end to the other end !!! stuff that in your MIND for a SECOND ! Its basically not humanely possible ! Bud Collins was a demonstrative man when he called tennis matches and he went "nuts" and the replay of thisINSANELY AMAZING FLYING BACKHAND PASSING SHOT DOWN THE LINE FROM NOWHERE shot has as far as I know has never been shown since. Nastase was the Fastest Human Being you could IMAGINE. A total and I mean this sincerely....a BLUR.... an literal BLUR ....an apparition.....when he sprang into his "spooky action at a distance" quantum entangled speed. Needles to say this didn't happen all the time. When he played . It was something whispered about in lockerooms and interviews about Ilie Nastase. it made him really famous among the Famous people on Earth in those days. Un fortunately he was "Gypsy" crazy too. And like Bud Collins destined for a short lived career at the top of his game. The only other atheletes at this time who came close to Ilie Nastase's "ability" during these days we're the Cuban Mens Volley Ball team, that had at least 4 of these players that could jump straight up from a standing position at least 5 feet in the air...!! O h yeah and little Calvin Murphy of the Houston Rockets a 5" 6" point guard that could stand under a NBA hoop and STUFF THE BALL! SInce 1967 I have watched and even played with some pro's (Rod Laver, who did some amazing eyes closed shots) and NEVER have I seen the likes of Illie Nastase since. The Dude was Romanian Gypsy Savant Tennis Wizard FAST and the spookiest, coolist Athelete in ANY sport I ever watched let alone participated in.

[@BadgerBotherer1]

Tennis today would be better to watch if they forced players to use the rackets they were using back in the 1970s.

[@MrPernell27]

i like how these played play a point and get on to the next one. They don't have to pick their ass for 30 seconds or towel off after every damn point. Amazing how good these guys were considering the shitty equipment they had to play with.

[@melchiorgenovese6966]

They were good because of the equipment they played with. It wasn't 'shitty' at all!

[@MrPernell27]

Melchior Genovese obviously dumbass I meant compared to today’s equipment. And yes it is shitty

[@Drywall.49]

Beautiful 🎾 tenis 🎾 Nastase genius 👑

[@10slover62]

Wow!!! Incredible shotmaking by both guys! Impressive. Esp w/ those old racquets.

[@accel10s]

"Pales"??? Not sure what you are looking at then. Nastase is perhaps the most physically gifted player ever to play the game. He was bigger, faster, and stronger than either Federer or Djokovic. He moved like a panther and had the most incredible reflexes ever. Granted, the training of athletes was very different then and now (hyperbaric chambers, come on) but you can just look at Nastase and see what an amazing physical specimen he was.

[@lugojanu]

Spoken like a true fitness specialist, only Nasty was naturally gifted, he did not train much.

[@hallu6666]

He rocks, and looks as if he was chiselled out of rock.

[@Drywall.49]

Señores esto es arte👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@mariancatalui4047]

legend ilie nastase

[@alin1975]

Holy crap that was entertaining. Best 7 mins I spent on youtube in a long while. Unreal what they could do with those crappy wooden racquets. Wow.

[@stuartdryer1352]

Actually Arthur Ashe was playing with an early Head composite. I know, I had one! Still utter crap by modern standards, the sweet spot was miniscule. I actually went back to wood after awhile. This was in early 70s.

[@preciousjey]

Some Nasty tennis. Very good.

[@alasdairpaterson3439]

Nastase makes it look easy

[@lugojanu]

For Nasty, it was easy !

[@farleytaylor5493]

Both at the height of their powers. What a thrill !

[@cyrilbrocard]

Beautiful tennis. I remember Nastase saying in an interview that he was "more of a claycourt player, really". Well, it doesn't show on this ffootage.

[@Editor_Hound]

I think he said that because in Romania we have a lot of clay courts and barely a couple of grass ones.

[@jjanderson8235]

Ilie would do more 'trick' shots on clay, with the slower pace. I witnessed in person (1973) some truly crazy shots by this racquet artist genius.

I was at the Flushing Meadows stadium and watched this memorable match. It was so close it could’ve went either way. Nastase’s on court behavior bothered no non-sense Ashe a bit as he was not used to seeing some odd mannerism.

[@mikehzz9848]

No nonsense walk up and serve. Two of the best volleyers in the game. Excellent tennis, how slick was that court?

[@ovidiuhanganu313]

eternal dreamer who changed the tennis...........

[@rexchidgey7911]

Two wonderful shot makers... Nastase was a freak and so loose!

[@tudorm6838]

Nastase could have won more Grand Slam tournaments, but he participates and advances in both doubles and mixed doubles. In the final with Stan Smith from 1972, Smith was in the 8th match at Wimbledon and Nastase in the 17th match. In this tournament - US Open 1972 - he also reached the mixed doubles final and the singles semifinal. Ashe - was in its 8th (7 singles, 1 double) match and Nastase was in his 19th match (7 singles, 6 doubles, 6 mixed doubles).

[@cfppag6815]

due fuoriclasse

[@ThorD4602]

Depth, power and placement on Ashe's volleys are unreal

[@DK-lc8gf]

This is how tennis used to be played - great to see two old masters

[@salvadorlunagalvez6306]

El elegante y preciosista tenis de mi adolescencia

[@vincenteluard3427]

Quelle fluidité dans le jeu de nastase 😊

[@4jrgolf]

That was really fun to watch! Their volleys were always accompanied by an extra miniature swing, guess blocking alone wasn't enough with those rackets. Still amazed on the accuracy they had.

[@filipvasoti]

Hey! I'm a romNian so for ne năstase was a legend.

[@constantaborsaru2866]

Dupa atatea ani ne mandrim iarasi cu tenisul romanesc ,,Simona Halep" o invingatoare!

[@iCyclone]

Old tennis is so elegant. They had beautiful strokes. The game now lacks this beauty.

[@dystopian..]

Magnificent. Wow

[@donluna2000]

Play during the wood racket era was slower and allowed players time to run to the net. That is why players could make angled shots. The result is ART. Today, it.s all about power and base line play.

[@davidramirez4810]

That is some serious tennis! Both at their prime.

[@JIM2oob]

5:21 .. best drop shot artist of all time.

[@bonhamhouse1169]

Too easy.

[@terrenceolivido741]

Arthur Ashe was probably the most intellectually accomplished tennis player in history. I actually love his style and demeanor playing tennis. It was a great moment when he won Wimbledon.

[@scottluther6699]

Nastasse was fantastic when he was having fun. When he started taking it to seriously, his emotions took his game down a few notches.

[@zinastanescu3911]

I love how the sound goes out from that rackets

[@markthomas3730]

I remember watching this on TV...I was 9 yrs old at the time...

[@worldted]

Wow! That was great stuff!

[@ed-reea]

Amazing skills!!! Les power than today but way nicer tenis!

[@FLAC2023]

Amazing

[@purplebondsaiyan2987]

this is a Classic Tennis love it

[@ardeladimwit]

these two men were phenomenal-- so opposite in temperaments, but so dynamic on the court. Arthur Ashe always the absolute perfect gentlemen and ideal of the sport and Nastase often quite explosive. Nastase could run anything down, but here Ashe shows the world how to pass the Nastase firepower... and this would be good tutorial for anyone want to defeat a Djokovic-totally unforgettable players. They both deseerve far more recognition than they get.

[@babaji1947]

Beautiful one-handed backhand shots! So much more elegant than the sissy two-handed backhand that most players have today.

[@fromanotherstar]

These guys were knocking the crap out of the ball...excellent match !!

[@panadevulpe]

Please rename that stadium. Call it Ilie Năstase

[@duaruatolu9248]

... or Willie Nasty!

[@John-ct6yk]

They make it look easy with those small wooden racquets.

[@miguelbarahona6636]

Ashe's wasn't a wood racket, it was a Head Competition, metal and composite racket.

[@HankFinkle11]

They smacked those serves pretty hard for such primitive frames.

[@beaglesrfun5896]

Yup! Some of the passing shots were bullets. They hit even harder than Andy Murray, imho.

[@deanmartin7370]

It's hard to see the volume of topspin on the ball at a bird's-eye camera view. Murray hits a heavy as shit ball, these guys hit with pace but much less spin

[@ken-mb5cp]

They would get killed with today’s big returns. the wood racquet era was much more enjoyable to watch.

[@emphryio]

The racquets back then were heavier. That's not such a bad thing for serving. As long as you have some weight in the head of the racquet and decent strings (and they had natural gut) you can hit a big serve. But it's hard to control a heavy racquet very well to whip it around for heavy topspin groundstrokes. Not impossible but it usually leads to more errors so people just didn't bother doing it. With a heavy racquet hitting flatter just works better. Even today, Nadal is playing with a racquet that is 11 ounces at most. Great heavy topspin forehand. Serve isn't as powerful. Sampras played with a 14 ounce racquet just like they did back in the old days. Huge serve but he didn't hit heavy topspin on his groundstrokes.

[@Gustavo-fm2vm]

"the best European since Fred Perry"

[@keithwarner7117]

Nastaze. Grt hands.

[@vincent7520]

Tennis has changed so much since then. It's more spectacular, players shout like lumberjacks, the crowd is more "crowdy", pace is faster (or seems to be)… Altogether it is more brutal… no surprise, as society has become ……

[@4jrgolf]

Well said. Indeed there are parallels. The ATP is sitting close to an all time high, measuring spectators coming to events and sponsorship money. The venues seem to get bigger also. Recreational the tennis numbers of participants isn't looking healthy. People come to watch the us open, but then go out and play Pickleball. Be interesting how long this trend continues.

[@lorenzo6mm]

No. Its true. Nastase could jump over 4 feet straight up from a standing position. His quads we're/ARE legendary. I saw a John Newcombe and Ile Nastase play a private ( the 1970's) grudge match for a huge pile of money. Court side. Nastase moved as fast as a human being can inside the space of a court. The audience was pin drop quiet every time he moved that fast which wasn't always on his menu. Miloslav "The Cat" Mecir was his only real equal in that department. Ile Nastase may have been one of the fastest human beings alive ( to have ever lived), except for his on and off court antics which kind of ruined that mind blowing skill.