Ilie Nastase claims beautiful girls motivated him to play, not coaches

Sydney: Romanian tennis legend Ilie Nastase has claimed that he had beautiful girlfriends that gave him inspiration to play, and that is the reason he didn't have a coach.

Nastase, who was one of the original bad boys of the game, still knows how to create a stir.

The two-time grand slam was asked whether mental weakness and coaching issues might have played a part in Romania's world number three Simona Halep being crushed in straight sets by Ekaterina Makarova in the Australian Open quarterfinals, News.com.au reported.

Nastase replied that he didn't have a coach, adding that he had beautiful girlfriends he was looking at, claiming that he was playing for them.

The Romanian further said that it's good to have a coach, manager, ones family, but only a player can help themselves when they are on the court.

Nastase, who won the 1992 US Open and 1973 French Open, has had a colourful life both on and off the court. He married four times, three times to fashion models and once to an actress.

New York based international men's magazine Maxim once listed Nastase at number six in their list of 'Living Sex Legends', estimating that he had slept with more than 2500 women, the report added.