Mihnea-Ion Năstase (born 7 February 1967) is a former professional

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player from

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

. He is a nephew of two-time

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

winner

Ilie Năstase Ilie Theodoriu Năstase (, born 19 July 1946) is a former World No. 1 Romanian tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 in singles from 23 August 1973 to 2 June 1974, and was the first man to hold the top position on the computerized ATP rankin ...

and his father, Constantin Năstase, was a Romanian Davis Cup representative.

Career

Năstase was born in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

but grew up in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and went to college in the

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, where he played tennis for Mississippi State University. Partnering

Leonardo Lavalle Leonardo Lavalle Moreno (born 14 July 1967) is a former tennis player from Mexico, who turned professional in 1985. He represented his native country at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, where he was defeated in the quarterfinals by Spain' ...

, Năstase was a winner in the boys' doubles event at the 1984 US Open. It was his second

final, having finished runner-up to

Mark Kratzmann Mark Edward Kratzmann (born 17 May 1966) is a former Australian professional tennis player. Tennis career Kratzmann was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder in 1983. Juniors As the world's No. 1 ranked junior player in 1984, Kr ...

and Simon Youl in the 1983 Wimbledon Championships, with

Olli Rahnasto Olli Rahnasto (born 28 December 1965) is a retired professional tennis player from Finland. Rahnasto turned pro in 1982. During his career, he won two ATP Tour doubles titles and reached a career high doubles ranking of No. 79 in 1986. He was a ...

. In 1984, Năstase became the third member of his family to play for the Romanian Davis Cup team. With Andrei Dîrzu, he took part in Romania's doubles rubber against

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

in their World Group Relegation Play-off. The West Germans won the match and the tie. Năstase never appeared in the Davis Cup again.Davis Cup Profile
/ref> The Romanian was primarily a doubles player and it was in the men's doubles that he made his only senior

appearance.ATP World Tour Profile
/ref> It was in the

1989 Wimbledon Championships The 1989 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London in the United Kingdom. It was the 103rd edition of the Wimbledon Championships and were held from ...

, where he and Lan Bale lost in the opening round to

Javier Frana Javier Alberto Frana (born 25 December 1966) is a former tennis player from Argentina and former tennis commentator for ESPN Latin America. He won 1996 French Open Mixed Doubles title with compatriot Patricia Tarabini. Tennis career Frana tur ...

and his former junior partner Leonardo Lavalle. He was a semi-finalist with Borja Uribe at

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

in 1989 but his best performance came in the 1990 Sanremo Open, which he and Goran Prpic won.

ATP career finals

Doubles: 1 (1–0)

Challenger titles

Doubles: (3)

References

1967 births Living people Romanian male tennis players US Open (tennis) junior champions Mississippi State Bulldogs tennis players Tennis players from Bucharest Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' doubles 20th-century Romanian people {{Romania-tennis-bio-stub