Mansour Bahrami
Mansour is thought by many to be the most naturally gifted player ever to pick up a tennis racquet.
As a child growing up in Iran, he worked as a ball boy, and because he was unable to afford a racket of his own, he improvised with frying pans and broom handles to teach himself the game. Mansour has often commented that his outrageous shotmaking ability resulted from mastering tennis using such unusual implements. His progress was brought to an abrupt halt when the Islamic Revolution led to the banning of professional sport in Iran. Not to be detterred from playing the sport he loved, Mansour set off for France with his life savings. However, he soon gambled these away in a casino and was left penniless.
Although a number of friends supported him financially as he began to play a few tournaments within France, by this time Mansour was already 30 years old and had missed his chance to make his mark on the professional game. He did still manage to become a successful doubles player, reaching the finals of the French Open Doubles in 1989 with partner Eric Winogradsky. Bahrami reluctantly withdrew from the circuit in the early 1990's, but when the ATP Champions Tour came into being in the late 90's, Mansour had found his calling. He now spends over 40 weeks of the year playing in tournaments and exhibitions around the world including events staged on the show courts at Wimbledon and the French Open.
The ATP Champions Tour has provided the perfect outlet for Manour as an entertainer. He often appears in doubles exhibitions between singles matches to show off his tricks and make people laugh. His sense of humour shines through all of his matches and the crowd are never sure of his latest move, be it serving whilst holding six balls, a through-the-legs lob or catching the ball in his pocket.
