A crowd favourite, Ilie delivered his best Grand Slam results at Melbourne Park where fans enjoyed his exuberant, shirt-ripping style.

Ilie once admitted he would like to have had a career in acting and said it was important for tennis players to put on a show.

He finished No.8 in the 1994 world junior rankings, reaching the final of the Australian Open Junior Singles Championships, winning the Canadian Open Juniors title, and advancing to the quarterfinals of the US Open Juniors.

He won two career titles: Coral Springs 1998 and Atlanta 2000, contributing to his highest singles world ranking of 38.

Ilie started playing tennis at seven and, after his family migrated to Australia from Romania, he began contesting tournaments as a 13 year old.

He was later invited to join the Australian Institute of Sport.

He played two Davis Cup singles rubbers for Australia in 2002 against Argentina in Buenos Aires, losing both.

Ilie left the circuit in 2004 because of injury and is now married and based in Hong Kong.