Ilie Nastase made an attempt at apologizing for his comments about Serena Williams and his outburst during a Fed Cup match. The 70-year-old Tennis great posted a statement on Facebook a week after he speculated about the skin color of the baby the pregnant Serena is expecting. "At the press conference I was asked what opinion I had about Serena being pregnant. I then found out for the first time (she was pregnant) and my reaction was spontaneous," said Nastase, who is the captain of Romania's Fed Cup team. Nastase also said Serena was "one of the greatest players of all times and I know how much work goes into achieving these results." Serena is black and her fiance, Alexis Ohanian, is white. Nastase was also criticized for swearing at player Johanna Konta and Britain captain Anne Keothavong during a Fed Cup match. He said he would not try to "defend my words, but I assure you that behind them was my desire to defend the interests of the Romanian team and Romanian Tennis." Romania won the best-of-five series 3-2, but Nastase was banned by the International Tennis Federation. Nastase called Tennis not a sport but "my life," saying his outburst meant "I managed to do what I didn't imagine was possible, to feel that Tennis was slipping away from me." "I know that nothing can really excuse my words, nor a high-level match, not the non-conformist attitude I am now known for, not the unfortunate amplification of the situation," he said. "My life remains dedicated to Tennis and its public and I ask you to accept, as much as is possible, my apologies." Despite the apology, he also took another shot at Konta. "I think what happened was exaggerated from all sides. Nonetheless, Johanna Konta should not have spoken with the chair umpire, that's what the team captain does," Nastase said. "I asked her in a civilized way for some explanations and she sent me to the tribune where I was removed as captain. After this, the umpire suspended the match. I don't know why the match was suspended." Nastase earned the nickname "Nasty" for his on-court outbursts and gamesmanship in his playing heyday in the 1970s. But it also described his game, which earned him two Grand Slam singles titles and more than 100 ATP titles. He's a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Hewitt tips Kyrgios to go deep at French Open Nick Kyrgios could go far at the French Open next month after a stellar run of form that saw him lead Australia into the Davis Cup semi-finals, Lleyton Hewitt says. The controversial Kyrgios, who turns 22 on Thursday, has been impressive since a spectacular meltdown in the Australian Open second round in January. The world No. 16 pushed eventual champion Roger Federer to the brink in the semifinals in Miami this month and has made the semis in three of his last four tournaments. The Australian also overpowered Novak Djokovic two times in as many weeks in March to become the first player in eight years to beat the world No. 2 in back-to-back hard court tournaments. "He can do well, especially with where his ranking's at the moment. He's going to be a nice seeding going into the French," Australia's Davis Cup captain Hewitt told RSN Racing & Sport radio station in Melbourne. "You've always got to be wary of some dangerous floaters at the French Open because there's so many good claycourters, especially from Europe. "So in some of those early rounds, he's got to be wary and pay that respect to those opponents, but he could easily get through to the fourth round and then the draw opens up and all of a sudden you're deep into the second week." F ormer world No. 1 Hewitt said Kyrgios' firepower would help his serve through a slow clay court and "get a lot of cheap points", and then be aggressive on his return game and place pressure on his opponents. "And for a big guy — six foot four — he moves well. So it's not his best surface... but I'm very comfortable with him on that surface." Kyrgios crashed out of last year's French Open in the third round against Richard Gasquet and was fined for an audible obscenity during the loss. He also received a code violation at the Grand Slam for shouting at a ball boy. He is still on the hunt for a coach after parting with Todd Larkham before Wimbledon in 2015, and Hewitt said whoever was hired would not be employed full-time. "He's the kind of guy that needs a little bit of space as well," Hewitt added. — Agencies
