Konta visibly upset as Nastase thrown off the court by tie referee Andreas Egli
Sunday 23 April 2017 15:45, UK
Great Britain's Fed Cup tie in Romania was briefly suspended on Saturday after another row involving Ilie Nastase.
The home team's captain, who is has been barred from the remainder of the tie amidst an on-going investigation by the International Tennis Federation, was sent from his position during the second rubber between Johanna Konta and Sorana Cirstea after rowing with the umpire.
Konta then broke down in tears, apparently after she was verbally abused by a spectator and Nastase, as Romania's Simona Halep urged the crowd to calm down.
Play resumed a few minutes later with Konta a set up and trailing 3-1 in the second, and with GB 1-0 down following Halep's victory over Heather Watson.
And the British No 1 reeled off five straight games to win 6-2 6-3 and level the play-off match at 1-1.
Watson slipped to a 6-4 6-1 defeat inside 70 minutes on the Constanta clay, losing six straight games as Halep proved too good for the world No 113.
But the whole tie has been overshadowed by the behaviour of Nastase, who was overheard making a remark about Serena Williams' pregnancy at Friday's press conference and was then caught on camera jokily asking GB captain Anne Keothavong for her room number.
Nastase then confronted Press Association reporter Eleanor Crooks on Saturday morning, repeatedly calling her "stupid" for reporting the Williams comment.
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