Mansour Bahrami: Magician on tennis court
The 54 year French-Iranian tennis player, Mansour Bahrami is called the "magician on the court" due to his acrobatic and entertaining style. His father was the gardener in Tehran's main tennis complex, but Mansour was not allowed in the courts despite his love for tennis. Also his family could not afford to buy a racquet for him, so he started, at the age of six, to practice tennis moves using frying pans and broom handles. Bahrami later credited this with his masetry of acrobatic moves in tennis.
Over time, Mansouri's talent and persistence secured him a spot on Iran's Davis Cup team, which he helped to a victory at the age of sixteen. He was considered among Iran's and world's best emerging professional tennis players, but his career came to an abrupt break in 1979, when all professional sports were halted during the Iranian revolution.
In 1981, Bahrami won the first prize in Tehran's "Revolution Cup" tournament and used his prize - a ticket to France - to immigrate to France. He initially lost some of his savings in French casinos, but thanks to support by friends and his tireless practice on tennis courts, he began to play and win a few tournaments within France. He then became a successful doubles player and even reached the French Open doubles final in 1989 in partnership with Eric Winogradsky. He also reached his career's highest ranking (world's no. 192) in 1988.
Bahrami found his niche in 1993 when the ATP Champions Tour was set up for players aged over 35. Over time, the matches that he played with the likes of Jimmy Connors, Björn Borg and John McEnroe ensured that he achieved star status. Bahrami also formed a memorable doubles partnership with former French Open finalist and Davis Cup winner Henri Leconte as well as former French Open champion Yannick Noah. His best achievement in the senior tour so far was winning the ATP Champions Tour event in Doha, Qatar.
Despite being a serious and competitive player, Bahrami's weakness and indeed his appeal was an insatiable thirst for entertaining the usually-stern crowds at tennis courts, with acrobatic moves and unusual breathtaking shots such as "power shots through the legs," and the drop shot which bounces back over the net due to excessive backspin. His sense of humor shines through all of his matches and the crowd are never sure of his latest move, be it serving whilst holding six balls, an under arm serve, catching the ball in his pocket, deliberately missing a smash or playing an imaginary, slow-motion point! (see videos)
Bahrami has gained worldwide fame as the inventor of acrobatic tennis, and now he travels 40 weeks out of a year playing exhibition tournaments at major tennis venues throughout the world.
He is married to a French lady (Frederique, pictured below) and they have two children. Unlike Andre Agassi who does not talk about his Iranian heritage, Bahrami is proud of his ancestry and often says he misses Iran (interview in Persian by Manoto TV in attached videos below). He has returned to Iran twice for tournaments but due to numerous government-imposed problems and restrictions has decided not to return soon.
His autobiography, "Le Court Des Miracles" was published in 2006, accompanying a DVD entitled (The Man Behind The Moustache) chronicling his life and the highlights of his career. His autobiography has been translated into English as "The Court Jester" and was released in late 2009.
Related Video:
Mansour Bahrami, Tennis entertainer, in World Tennis Challenge
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