Ion Țiriac

Ion Țiriac

Country (sports)	Romania
Residence	Bucharest, Romania
Born	(1939-05-09) 9 May 1939 (age 82) Brașov, Romania
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Turned pro	1968 (amateur tour from 1962)
Retired	1979
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF	2013 (member page)
Singles
Career record	167–177[1]
Career titles	1
Highest ranking	No. 8 (1968, World's Top 10)[2]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	2R (1977Jan)
French Open	QF (1968)
Wimbledon	4R (1967, 1972)
US Open	3R (1973)
Doubles
Career record	294–141
Career titles	22
Highest ranking	No. 19 (9 April 1979)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	2R (1977Jan)
French Open	W (1970)
Wimbledon	SF (1970)
Team competitions
Davis Cup	F (1969Ch, 1971Ch, 1972)
Medal record Representing  Romania Tennis Summer Universiade 1961 Sofia Singles 1961 Sofia Mixed Doubles 1965 Budapest Singles 1965 Budapest Mixed Doubles 1965 Budapest Doubles

Ion Țiriac (Romanian pronunciation: [iˈon t͡siriˈak]; born 9 May 1939), also known as the 'Brașov Bulldozer'^[3] is a Romanian businessman and former professional tennis and ice hockey player.^[4] He is the current president of the Romanian Tennis Federation.^[5]

A former singles top 10 player on the ATP Tour, he is the winner of one grand slam title, the 1970 French Open in men's doubles. Țiriac was the first man to play against a woman and defeat her in one set in a sanctioned tennis tournament (against Abigail Maynard, in 1975). The highlight of his ice hockey career was participating as defenseman in the Romanian national team at the 1964 Winter Olympics.

After retirement, he became active as a tennis coach, advisor and player agent in the 1980s, taking under his wing Ilie Năstase, Manuel Orantes, Adriano Panatta, Guillermo Vilas, Henri Leconte and the young Boris Becker. Later, Țiriac developed the Mutua Madrid Open ATP masters tennis tournament, which he owns.^[6] In 2013, he was elected as contributor into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.^[7] He has currently been managing French tennis player Lucas Pouille since December 2016.

As a tennis player he played dramatic 5 setters against Rod Laver, Stan Smith, Jan Kodeš or Manuel Orantes. His singles record includes wins over Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Roscoe Tanner, Manuel Orantes, Andrés Gimeno, Adriano Panatta and Niki Pilić. He played 3 Davis Cup finals (in 1969, 1971 and 1972).^[8]

According to Forbes magazine, in 2020 he was ranked as the third richest businessman from Romania.^[9]

Sports career[]

Țiriac was born in Transylvania, which is probably the reason why he has the nickname 'Count Dracula'.^[10] He first appeared on the international sports scene as a child ping pong champion, then subsequently as an ice hockey player on the Romanian national team at the 1964 Winter Olympics. Shortly after that he switched to tennis as his main sport. With fellow Romanian Ilie Năstase he won the men's doubles in the 1970 French Open and reached the Davis Cup finals several times in the 1970s.^[11]

John McPhee wrote of him that his drooping mustache suggests "that this man has been to places most people do not imagine exist. He appears to be a panatela ad, a triple agent from Alexandria, a used-car salesman from central Marrakesh. Tiriac has the air of a man who is about to close a deal in a back room behind a back room."^[12]

Țiriac participated in the short period during the 1970s when women dabbled as coeds in established men's tennis tournaments. In his first match he defeated Abigail Maynard 6–0, 6–0 in their round one match at USTA pro circuit's Fairfiled County International Tennis Championship. It was the first time ever a female had entered a men's tournament.^[13][14]

After his retirement, he served as coach and manager for players such as Ilie Năstase, Guillermo Vilas, Mary Joe Fernández, Goran Ivanišević and Marat Safin.^[15] He became the sports agent of Boris Becker and managed his career from 1984 to 1993.

Țiriac was president of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee from 1998 to 2004.

Țiriac ran major men's events in Germany, including the season-ending championships in Hanover. Although tennis is now a much smaller part of his portfolio and occupies only 5 percent of his time, he has taken particular pleasure and pride in making Madrid Tennis Open a combined men's and women's event with €7.2 million in total prize money.^[16] The trophy awarded to the tournament winner bears his name.

Țiriac also holds the license for the BRD Năstase Țiriac Trophy tennis tournament since 1996. It is currently a €450,000 event, part of the ATP World Tour 250 series, held annually in Bucharest, Romania, just 2 weeks before the Madrid Open.

In 2012 he was nominated for the International Tennis Hall of Fame in the contributor category.^[17]

On 13 July 2013 he joined the International Tennis Hall of Fame as a successful promoter and tournament director for numerous events including the two of the largest Masters 1000 events, the Italian Open and the Madrid Masters.

Business career[]

One of two Rolls-Royce Phantom IV owned by Țiriac, part of his car collection.^[18]

After his retirement as a professional tennis player, Țiriac became a businessman in (then West) Germany. In 1987, he appeared in a TV commercial for Miller Lite beer with Bob Uecker, who extols Țiriac's supposed humorous qualities, laughing hysterically while Țiriac sits stone-faced.

Following the collapse of communism in Romania, he started numerous businesses and investments back home. In 1990, he founded , the first private bank in post-Communist Romania. Between that and several other enterprises (retail, insurance, auto leasing, auto dealerships, airlines, etc.), his fortune was estimated at over US$900 million in 2005.

Țiriac is an avid car collector. The Tiriac Collection represents the exhibition of cars and motorcycles under his ownership. Reopened to the public in May 2015, the collection includes historical vehicles manufactured since 1899 and also modern exotics with about 350 cars and 165 cars at full time display on a rotation basis.^[19] Visitors will find the only collection in the world with 2 Rolls-Royce Phantoms IV, as well as exhibits that previously belonged to great names such as Sir Elton John, Sammy Davis Jr. or Bernie Ecclestone.

In 2006, Tiriac was selected as one of the 100 Greatest Romanians, ranking #77.

Ion Țiriac became the first Romanian to enter Forbes' List of billionaires in the 2007 Forbes rankings, ranking 840th in the world. His wealth was estimated at $1.0 billion as of 2010, according to the magazine.^[20] In 2010, TOP 300 Capital declared Ion Țiriac the richest man in Romania with a wealth estimated at €1.5–€1.6 billion ($2–$2.2 billion).^[21]

In 2018, Ion Tiriac ranked #1867 on the Forbes World's Billionaires list, with wealth listed at US$1.2 billion.^[22]

Ion Tiriac on a Romanian postage stamp

Personal life[]

Țiriac was married to Erika Braedt, a handball player, between 1963 and 1965.^[23]

He has a son, Ion Țiriac Jr., with Mikette von Issenberg, a fashion model; and further two children, Karim Mihai and Ioana Natalia, with Sophie Ayad, an Egyptian journalist.^[24][25][26]

According to Cinemagia, he dubbed the character Kron for the Romanian version of Dinosaur.^[27]

Career statistics[]

Grand Slam finals[]

Doubles 2 (1–1)[]

	Outcome	Championship	Partnering	Opponents	Score
1966	Runner-up	French Championships	Ilie Năstase	Dennis Ralston Clark Graebner	3–6, 3–6, 0–6
1970	Winner	French Open	Ilie Năstase	Arthur Ashe Charlie Pasarell	6–2, 6–4, 6–3

Grand Prix and WCT Tour finals (24–25)[]

Singles (2–1)[]

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1.	3 August 1970	Bavarian International Tennis Championships, Munich, Germany	Clay	Nikola Pilić	2–6, 9–7, 6–3, 6–4
Winner	2.	9 May 1971	Madrid, Spain	Clay	Ilie Năstase	7–5, 6–1, 6–0
Runner-up	1.	1 February 1972	Omaha, Nebraska, USA	Hard (i)	Ilie Năstase	6–2, 1–6, 1–6

Doubles (22–24)[]

Key

Outcome	Week of	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
1. Winner	1970	Philadelphia WCT, USA	Carpet	Ilie Năstase	Arthur Ashe Dennis Ralston	6–4, 6–3
2. Winner	4 May 1970	French Open, Paris	Clay	Ilie Năstase	Arthur Ashe Charlie Pasarell	6–2, 6–4, 6–3
3. Winner	1970	Rome, Italy	Clay	Ilie Năstase	William Bowrey Owen Davidson	0–6, 10–8, 6–3, 6–8, 6–1
1. Runner-up	13 July 1970	Washington DC, USA	Clay	Ilie Năstase	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan	5–7, 0–6
4. Winner	20 July 1970	Cincinnati, USA	Clay	Ilie Năstase	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan	6–3, 6–4
2. Runner-up	27 July 1970	U.S. Clay Court Championships, Indianapolis	Clay	Ilie Năstase	Arthur Ashe Clark Graebner	6–2, 4–6, 4–6
3. Runner-up	16 November 1970	Embassy British Indoor Championships, London	Carpet	Ilie Năstase	Ken Rosewall Stan Smith	4–6, 3–6, 2–6
5. Winner	7 March 1971	Hampton, USA	Hard (i)	Ilie Năstase	Clark Graebner Thomaz Koch	6–4, 4–6, 7–5
6. Winner	12 April 1971	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Ilie Năstase	Tom Okker Roger Taylor	1–6, 6–3, 6–3, 8–6
4. Runner-up	18 April 1971	Palermo, Sicily, Italy	Clay	Ilie Năstase	Georges Goven Pierre Barthes	2–6, 3–6
5. Runner-up	22 May 1971	Brussels, Belgium	Clay	Ilie Năstase	Marty Riessen Tom Okker
7. Winner	6 February 1972	Kansas City, USA	Indoor	Ilie Năstase	Andrés Gimeno Manuel Orantes	6–7, 6–4, 7–6
6. Runner-up	14 February 1972	Los Angeles, California, USA		Ilie Năstase	Jim Osborne Jim McManus	2–6, 7–5, 4–6
8. Winner	5 March 1972	Hampton, USA	Hard (i)	Ilie Năstase	Andrés Gimeno Manuel Orantes	6–4, 7–6
9. Winner	24 April 1972	Rome, Italy	Clay	Ilie Năstase	Lew Hoad Frew McMillan	3–6, 3–6, 6–4, 6–3, 5–3, RET.
7. Runner-up	13 May 1972	Bournemouth, England	Clay	Ilie Năstase	Frew McMillan Bob Hewitt	5–7, 2–6
8. Runner-up	5 June 1972	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	Bob Hewitt	Ilie Năstase Jan Kodeš	6–4, 0–6, 6–3, 2–6, 2–6
10. Winner	14 August 1972	Montreal, Canada	Clay	Ilie Năstase	Jan Kodeš Jan Kukal	7–6, 6–3
9. Runner-up	4 February 1973	Des Moines, Iowa, USA	Hard	Juan Gisbert	Jan Kukal Jiří Hřebec	6–4, 6–7, 1–6
10. Runner-up	3 March 1973	Hampton, Virginia, USA	Hard	Jimmy Connors	Ilie Năstase Clark Graebner	6–4, 6–7, 1–6
11. Winner	26 March 1973	Valencia, Spain	Clay	Mike Estep	Patrick Hombergen Bernard Mignot	6–4, 1–6, 10–8
11. Runner-up	2 April 1973	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Mike Estep	Manuel Orantes Juan Gisbert	4–6, 6–7
12. Runner-up	7 May 1973	Bournemouth, England	Clay	Adriano Panatta	Ilie Năstase Juan Gisbert	4–6, 6–8
13. Runner-up	11 June 1973	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	Manuel Orantes	Hans-Jürgen Pohmann Jürgen Fassbender	6–7, 6–7, 6–7
14. Runner-up	23 June 1973	Eastbourne, England	Grass	Manuel Orantes	Jim McManus Ove Nils Bengtson	4–6, 6–4, 5–7
12. Winner	5 August 1973	Louisville, Kentucky, USA	Clay	Manuel Orantes	Clark Graebner John Newcombe	0–6, 6–4, 6–3
15. Runner-up	13 August 1973	Indianapolis, Indiana, USA	Clay	Manuel Orantes	Frew McMillan Bob Carmichael	3–6, 4–6
13. Winner	17 January 1977	Baltimore, Maryland, USA	Carpet	Guillermo Vilas	Ross Case Jan Kodeš	6–3, 6–7, 6–4
16. Runner-up	7 February 1977	Springfield, Massachusetts	Carpet	Guillermo Vilas	Frew McMillan Bob Hewitt	6–7, 6–2
14. Winner	28 March 1977	Nice, France	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	Chris Kachel Chris Lewis	6–4, 6–1
17. Runner-up	31 July 1977	South Orange, New Jersey, US	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	Colin Dibley Wojciech Fibak	1–6, 5–7
18. Runner-up	19 September 1977	Paris, France	Clay	Ilie Năstase	Jacques Thamin Christophe Roger-Vasselin	2–6, 6–4, 3–6
15. Winner	26 September 1977	Aix-en-Provence, France	Clay	Ilie Năstase	Patrice Dominguez Rolf Norberg	7–5, 7–6
16. Winner	3 October 1977	Tehran, Iran	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan	1–6, 6–1, 6–4
17. Winner	3 October 1977	Tehran, Iran	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan	1–6, 6–1, 6–4
18. Winner	21 November 1977	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	Ricardo Cano Antonio Muñoz	6–4, 6–0
19. Winner	23 May 1978	BMW Open, Munich, Germany	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	Jürgen Fassbender Tom Okker	3–6, 6–4, 7–6
19. Runner-up	30 July 1978	South Orange, New Jersey, US	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	John McEnroe Peter Fleming	3–6, 3–6
20. Winner	25 September 1978	Aix-en-Provence, France	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	Jan Kodeš Tomáš Šmíd	7–6, 6–1
20. Runner-up	5 November 1978	Paris Bercy, France	Hard	Guillermo Vilas	Andrew Pattison Bruce Manson	6–7, 2–6
21. Runner-up	1 January 1979	Hobart, Tasmania, Australia	Grass	Guillermo Vilas	Bob Giltinan Phil Dent	6–8
22. Runner-up	29 January 1979	Richmond, Virginia, USA	Carpet	Guillermo Vilas	John McEnroe Brian Gottfried	4–6, 3–6
21. Winner	19 March 1979	San José, Costa Rica	Hard	Guillermo Vilas	Anand Amritraj Colin Dibley	7–6, 6–1
23. Runner-up	28 May 1979	French Open, Paris, France	Clay	Virginia Ruzici	Wendy Turnbull Bob Hewitt	3–6, 6–2, 3–6
24. Runner-up	9 July 1979	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	John Marks Mark Edmondson	3–6, 6–2, 3–6
22. Winner	29 July 1979	Volvo International, North Conway, New Hampshire, USA	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	John Sadri Tim Wilkison	6–4, 7–6

Performance timeline[]

Companies[]

• Țiriac Holdings
• ȚiriacAIR
• HVB Țiriac Bank^{[permanent dead link]}
• Allianz-Țiriac Asigurări România
• ȚiriacAuto
• Țiriac Leasing
• Tir Travel (formerly Țiriac Travel)

See also[]

• Capital Top 300 wealthiest men in Romania

References[]

External links[]

• Ion Țiriac at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Ion Țiriac at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
• Ion Țiriac at the International Tennis Federation
• Ion Țiriac at the Davis Cup
• Forbes World's Billionaires #840
• Ion Tiriac; Tennis's Grandest Bad Boy June 24, 1993 The New York Times