Not many people can say that they played until the age of 59. Mansour Bahrami reached the Davis Cup team at the age of 16. A journalist came to me and said that he wanted to have a press conference with me. Enjoy some of his best moments on The ATP Champions Tour About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy . racquet. Every time I saw a policeman coming, I changed direction. For us nowadays it is almost impossible to imagine that you play the Davis Cup for your country and aren't being watched and supported by your own parents just one single time. His career highlight was reaching the French Open doubles final in 1989 with Eric Winogradsky. Ilie (Nastase) says I would have been in the worlds top 10 for sure. Who knows? Are You Asking It Already? Since he didnt own a real tennis racquet until he was thirteen he taught himself to play using a rusty old metal frying pan, and other implements he is indisputably the greatest player ever to wield a kitchen utensil. I love my father and my mother so much, but for me it was not always easy to understand why they could not come to see me play.. And also without being number 1 or 50 of the world, you can have a pretty good time on a tennis court!. Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF. Mansour Bahrami plays funny phantom point in men's doubles | Wimbledon 2018. He is the son of one of the gardeners who keeps the courts impeccable and although he is dying to play, he is forbidden to do so: it is the 1960s and tennis is a sport reserved for the wealthy classes in his country. Although his first year in Paris was hard and a continuous struggle to survive, these years being stuck in Iran are the only ones Bahrami looks back on with bitterness in his voice. The man to beat, stuck in France He is sought after and respected by the greatest players like Novak Djokovic , Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal . Why Applying Constant Pressure on Yourself Can Significantly Improve Your Productivity and Success. Statistics are updated at the end of the game. In 1975, Mansour made his Davis Cup debut against Britains Roger Taylor and lost 6-0, 6-0, 6-2. Far from lamenting, Mansour embraces his destiny. PreviousNext Imagine a little boy watching a couple of adults play tennis at a sports club in a city in Iran. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. John McEnroe has referred to him as "a genius" and Rod Laver has described him as the most naturally talented player to ever pick up a racket in tennis history. He would have said: Stop that and now you play seriously. Hover over the form graph to see event details. The dream of a man that once again could not play tennis for more than three years during the Islamic Revolution and who lost the best years of his career between the age of 20 and 30 due to his Iranian passport. No, everything is perfect. I had slept in the streets for three months and I swear to God that I had nothing to eat that night and I had no place to sleep. At the age of 33 he finally was a free man ready to travel and to entertain tennis fans all over the world with his huge talent and practical jokes. Because all tennis courts in Iran were closed down, he spent the next three years playing backgammon. Sometimes I saw a beautiful woman and I did not talk to her and I regretted it afterwards, Mansour tells us. It was very selfless of her to send me away and it changed my life for ever. Am I angry? He gave me a really bad look and broke my racket smashing it on the steps. Bahrami has famously never had a tennis lesson and has even used a frying pan to teach himself all his tricks! Read about our approach to external linking. At the end of the seventies during the Islamic Revolution in Iran professional sports, including tennis, were forbidden. I saw him play at Wimbledon in a doubles torny, and he's such a crowd pleaser and the other players also love him. When I played for example in Hamburg against Boris Becker (number one in the world at that time), the German people where all for me. I thought you were dead!. It is almost too cruel to imagine. THE CHAMPIONSHIPS 2022 MIXED INVITATION DOUBLES RESULTS Wins Losses GROUP A BAHRAMI, Mansour (FRA) and MARTINEZ, Conchita (ESP) ENQVIST, Thomas (SWE) and In 1981, at the age of twenty-four, Bahrami reached the third round of the French Open as a qualifier, whereupon his cause was taken up by influential French newspapers such as LEquipe and Le Figaro, who demanded the renewal of his visa. Bahrami stopped playing tennis for three years before emigrating to France. The dream of a child born in 1956 in Iran that was forbidden to play tennis till the age of thirteen. Bahrami was a prodigy who was on the Iranian Davis Cup team as a 16-year-old, but due to the Islamic revolution, tennis courts were closed as the new regime viewed it as a capitalist and. Sometimes things don't go as expected and there are circumstances that alter our destiny. 10M views, 27K likes, 7.1K loves, 2K comments, 6.3K shares. I cannot tell you how many matches I lose that I should probably win because I am joking around. When Nastase saw me he said Mansour is that you!? Bahrami retired from the main ATP Tour in 2003. Bahrami amazed and delighted the crowd with his signature trick shots and humorous interactions with the spectators, who laughed, clapped and cheered almost non-stop throughout the match. They stopped me and one guy took me seven or eight times above his head and smashed me on the ground. Video, 00:00:59'All hail Bahrami!' 55,459 views. Video, 00:03:18'He can't play the victim' - Eubank Jr on Benn's failed drugs tests, Six Nations a bigger challenge than 2008 - Gatland. Sherlock Holm @SherlockHolm4 . But Bahrami was barred from achieving tennis greatness because the then rulers of Iran viewed tennis as a decadent Western activity definitely not to be encouraged. I lost nine years of my life. He loses by a score of 6-0, 6-0, 6-2, but the defeat does not matter because the young man enjoys the game and what was once a dream begins to loom as a possibility: becoming a professional tennis player. Ilie (Nastase) says I would have been in the worlds top 10 for sure. Mansour is a kind man and people were willing to help him, but he did not ask for help nor accept is. He tells him that he is the one who must use it to leave the country and travel to a place where he can play tennis. When I was lying on the ground, covered in blood I looked at the guy who was picking up my racket. Still, I dont have any regrets. When I was twelve years old a tennis player at the club gave me a racket. No, Im not angry, I feel I am a very lucky man. Every time I saw a policeman coming, I changed direction. Read about our approach to external linking. When I had nowhere to live, I walked the streets of Paris all day and slept on a bench at door number 13. Replying to @Wimbledon. "No my parents were never there to watch me play. He is currently pursuing his education in Finance and is passionate about learning new languages. Receive notifications for all games of this team. I love to feel people are having fun watching me. TV sports presenters enjoy analyzing Bahramis complicated and challenging shots, which he makes look easy. Yes, really. Being a quick learner, however, he won nine out of his next eleven singles matches, which was incredibly impressive. Was playing the final of Roland Garros the most beautiful moment of his career? Aware that he is already a mature player, Mansour Bahrami invents a new persona based on the traits that characterize his style of play and begins to participate in events and exhibition matches. His live outside the tennis court? When he sees the police he flees to avoid being deported and getting a job becomes increasingly difficult. Video, 00:04:48, This is a very serious project - Fabregas on Como, Unfair it is only managers who face media - Conte. We have seen many teenage players in tennis camps try to emulate him., [Translated from Persian by Fardine Hamidi], Please Support Us so That We Can Continue to Bring You the News That Matters. Your support is crucial: India needs independent media and independent media needs you. His ability is so amazing that the Iranian tennis federation recruits him to play at the age of 13 and at 16 he disputes his first Davis Cup against Briton Roger Taylor. Often, I would make one baguette last three or four days. But following Iran's Islamic Revolution in the late 1970s, tennis was viewed as a capitalist and elitist sport and therefore banned. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Video, 00:01:40Watch: Vialli's best FA Cup moments. They were happy to let me do what I wanted, but they did not feel in place between all the millionaires who attended the tennis tournaments. Having lost three years of his career because of the fundamentalist regime in Iran, Mansour then spent the next six years as a virtual prisoner in France because he refused to become a political refugee. CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete. I was a very happy child, tells the positive minded Mansour. Football fans around the world have been giving it a go but now the craze has seemingly reached the Wimbledon tennis championship. I never thought I was going to marry her. Mansour Bahrami executed a perfect underarm serve at Wimbledon 2019, which was met by a huge round of applause from the fans. Wimbledon 2022: Bahrami gives a super show to the crowd. Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF. (81.8 kilos) Plays: Right Handed Championships Played: 3 Events Entered: Invitation Mixed Doubles Best Doubles: 2, (1988) Career Matches Won: 23 Career Matches Lost: 46 High Rank for Singles: 192 Video, 00:02:01, 'Results not good enough' - Potter on Chelsea form, 'Never say never' - Russo on Man Utd title hopes. Then, after the Shah was deposed, he had to stop playing entirely or chose to leave his family and friends behind and surrender his Iranian identity, a choice Bahrami felt he should never have to make. A kind of actor, jester and circus performer who captivates whoever sees him. However I was so much in demand with the exhibitions that I even had to lose official ATP matches, because I had to play an exhibition elsewhere.Since the born-entertainer did not want to play that way he followed his passion once again and today he is still the most demanded exhibition player in the world. In 1983 the Ayatollah's measures are relaxed a bit and a single tournament is organized in Tern. When the audience laughs, I am the happiest man in the whole world. Mansour Bahrami is not your typical tennis player. The first photo of me. If they had asked me for my papers or ID they would have put me on the first plane back to Iran. His status also of course made working and earning money even more difficult. For weeks at a time I had nowhere to sleep, so I would walk the streets of Paris. Video, 00:01:40, Can you climb & ski the highest mountains on one leg? Copyright 2023 Entrepreneur Media, Inc. All rights reserved. They married three years later. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Even the better players could not beat me. Video, 00:04:48This is a very serious project - Fabregas on Como, Unfair it is only managers who face media - Conte. [1] Bahrami is considered to have "found his niche" on the ATP Champions Tour,[2] where his flamboyant, humorous style and propensity for trick shots make him a crowd favorite in the tour's more entertainment-oriented sphere. But you have to win to collect the money, he explained. Mansour was thirty years old before he was allowed finally to join the ATP as a full-time professional player. The cost of living in France was so much higher than in Iran that Bahrami soon realised that what he had brought with him wasnt going to last very long, so he reckoned hed better try and do something about it. When we risk everything to fulfill our dreams, a lucky star may appear to guide our way. But never for stopping the son of an Iranian hill tribesman from becoming Wimbledon champion even though that is exactly what happened. Mansour:It was on December 31th in 1981 at 23.57 at the Champs-Elyses. FirstSportz is the First Stop for all sports fanatics. The next day she came back to me and said that I should take it and pay an extra $200 to change the ticket to get to Nice, so I would have a chance to play tennis. Compare them with today's stars only on Sofascore! The height of the column represents match difficulty at the time, based on odds. Bahrami was competing in the senior Doubles event at Wimbledon 2019, and just as he was about to serve, he asked the receiver to stand a bit far away from the baseline. The idea of tennis goes into the background. But never for stopping the son of an Iranian hill tribesman from becoming Wimbledon champion - even though that is exactly what happened. Mansour has always preferred to use inventive creative shots above the rational conservative and safer way of playing tennis. However, two days later she said:No, it is best if you go and after that you can maybe go to France and if the things go right and you can stay there than maybe I will come as well. But Bahrami was barred from achieving tennis greatness because the then rulers of Iran viewed tennis as a decadent Western activity definitely not to be encouraged. 'Calisthenics make you feel pretty unstoppable' Video, 00:02:34'Calisthenics make you feel pretty unstoppable', That was the reaction we wanted - Klopp. Bahrami:Well, when I was thirteen the tennis federation needed new players. Why do women work harder than men? About Mansour Bahrami. Is Yours Next? Video, 00:04:19. Click and Order: A Hundred Sweet Promises. Mansour Bahrami:Play tennis and enjoy! 'He's truly amazing. Mansour Bahrami | Screenshot via Wimbledon. Bahrami's Best Tennis Trick Shots | We're missing Mansour Bahrami at Wimbledon this year! Not playing is very painful for me and I cannot image to quit tennis. Reaching the doubles finals of Roland Garros without one single tennis lesson or a coach. Quite a remarkable man he is, who made time for this exclusive interview atthe AFAS Tennis Classics: Mansour Bahrami! So, he stayed in Iran and for three years I was not allowed to hit a ball. Many years later Mansour will confess: "Roland Garros was a home for me. When I was seven, I would play with anything that looked vaguely like a Watch Gazza shine as Spurs beat Pompey in FA Cup. Mansour Bahrami sprung one ball in the air, and with the other ball, he hit an underarm serve. I walked all nights through the streets of Paris and I went to Roland Garros to sleep on a sofa for a couple of hours.Living in a situation like this, many people would have given up on their dream. In Iran tennis was a sport for the upper-class. The Incredible Story Of Mansour Bahrami, Tennis' ''Most Naturally Gifted Player Ever'' The Iranian continues to delight crowds at the age of 64 Elliott Bretland 16:00, 17 Jan 2021 "We are here to entertain," insists tennis icon Mansour Bahrami. Wimbledon 2022: Mansour Bahrami, 66, still fills seats as quickly as Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal Elgan Alderman Wednesday July 06 2022, 12.01am BST, The Times Bahrami has made a career. Mansour Bahrami performance & form graph is Sofascore Tennis livescore unique algorithm that we are generating from teams last 10 matches, statistics, detailed analysis and our own knowledge. A super show to the crowd changed direction I would make one last. Tennis Classics: mansour Bahrami back to Iran tribesman from becoming Wimbledon champion even though that exactly! Look easy conference with me who captivates whoever sees him adults play tennis at a time I a! 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