Mansour Bahrami

Mansour Bahrami (Persian: منصور بهرامی; born 26 April 1956) is a former professional tennis player. He is Iranian with dual French nationality since 1989. While only moderately successful on the ATP Tour, his showmanship has made him a long-standing and popular figure in invitational tournaments.

Mansour Bahrami
Country (sports) Iran
 France
ResidenceParis, France
Born (1956-04-26) 26 April 1956
Arak, Iran
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro1974
Retired1995 (singles)
2003 (doubles)[N 1]
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$368,780
Singles
Career record23–47 (32.9%)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 192 (9 May 1988)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQ1 (1977)
French Open2R (1981)
WimbledonQ1 (1976)
Doubles
Career record108–139 (43.7%)
Career titles2
Highest rankingNo. 31 (6 July 1987)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open1R (1977Jan)
French OpenF (1989)
Wimbledon2R (1988)
US Open3R (1987)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Wimbledon1R (1990)

Tennis career

Bahrami reached the Davis Cup team at the age of 16 but in the late 1970s the Islamic Revolution within Iran led to tennis being viewed as a capitalist and elitist sport and therefore banned.[1] He spent the next three years playing backgammon as all tennis courts were closed down. In desperation, he fled to France with his life savings, which he gambled in a casino and lost.[2]

While his best days were already behind him, and never having maximized his potential in singles, he became a successful doubles player, winning two tournaments and reaching the 1989 French Open doubles final with Éric Winogradsky.[3][2]

Senior tournaments

Bahrami has been a mainstay of the seniors invitational tennis circuit for more than 25 years.[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 favourite in the tour's more entertainment-oriented remit. In reference to his showmanship, his 2009 English-language autobiography was titled The Court Jester.[4] Amongst others, some of his common comic turns during games are faking serves, slow-motion miming, hitting balls backwards between his legs, over his shoulder or from the back, and playing whilst laying down or seated.

ATP career finals

Doubles: 12 (2–10)
Winner - Legend
Grand Slam (0–1)
Tennis Masters Cup (0–0)
ATP Masters Series (0–2)
ATP Tour (2–7)
Result W–L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 1986 ATP Bordeaux Clay Ronald Agénor Jordi Arrese
David de Miguel		 5–7, 4–6
Loss 0–2 1986 MercedesCup Clay Diego Pérez Hans Gildemeister
Andrés Gómez		 4–6, 3–6
Loss 0–3 1986 Paris Masters Carpet (i) Diego Pérez Peter Fleming
John McEnroe		 3–6, 2–6
Loss 0–4 1987 Monte-Carlo Masters Clay Michael Mortensen Hans Gildemeister
Andrés Gómez		 2–6, 4–6
Loss 0–5 1987 Geneva Open Clay Diego Pérez Ricardo Acioly
Luiz Mattar		 6–3, 4–6, 2–6
Win 1–5 1988 Geneva Open Clay Tomáš Šmíd Gustavo Luza
Guillermo Pérez Roldán		 6–4 6–3
Loss 1–6 1988 Toulouse Grand Prix Hard (i) Guy Forget Tom Nijssen
Ricki Osterthun		 3–6, 4–6
Loss 1–7 1989 French Open Clay Éric Winogradsky Jim Grabb
Patrick McEnroe		 4–6, 6–2, 4–6, 6–7(5–7)
Loss 1–8 1989 Geneva Open Clay Guillermo Pérez Roldán Andrés Gómez
Alberto Mancini		 3–6, 5–7
Win 2–8 1989 Toulouse Grand Prix Hard (i) Éric Winogradsky Todd Nelson
Roger Smith		 6–2, 7–6
Loss 2–9 1990 ATP Bordeaux Clay Yannick Noah Tomás Carbonell
Libor Pimek		 3–6, 7–6, 2-6
Loss 2–10 1991 Copenhagen Open Carpet (i) Andrei Olhovskiy Todd Woodbridge
Mark Woodforde		 3–6, 1–6

Challenger finals

Doubles: 5 (3–2)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partnering Opponents Score
Runner-up 1. 1986 Chartres, France Clay Éric Winogradsky Javier Frana
Gustavo Guerrero		 2–6, 4–6
Winner 1. 1986 Neu-Ulm, West Germany Clay Jaroslav Navrátil Menno Oosting
Huub van Boeckel		 7–5, 6–1
Winner 2. 1987 Clermont-Ferrand, France Clay Claudio Mezzadri Christophe Lesage
Jean-Marc Piacentile		 6–3, 7–5
Runner-up 2. 1987 Neu-Ulm, West Germany Clay Michael Mortensen Jaromir Becka
Udo Riglewski		 WEA
Winner 3. 1990 Dijon, France Carpet (i) Rodolphe Gilbert Jan Apell
Peter Nyborg		 7–5, 6–2

Bibliography and filmography
  • Bahrami, Mansour (2006). Le court des miracles (in French). Paris: Le Cherche Midi. ISBN 2749107652.
  • Bahrami, Mansour; Issartel, Jean (2009). The court jester : my story. Central Milton Keynes: TennisMania Trust, in association with AuthorHouse. ISBN 1438987943.
  • The Man behind the Moustache, DVD (2009).

Notes
  1. Bahrami retired from the main ATP Tour in 2003. As of 2019 he continues to appear at invitational events.

References
  1. Tilley, Joanna (3 July 2013). "Bahrami: Iran's solo tennis representative". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  2. ATP profile
  3. MacDonald, Geoff (30 January 2010). "Islamic Republic Crushed the Dreams of Iran's Top Tennis Players". New York Times. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  4. Bahrami, Mansour; Issartel, Jean (2009). The court jester : my story. Central Milton Keynes: TennisMania Trust, in association with AuthorHouse. ISBN 1438987943.
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