‘I didn’t know what to do,’ he recalled. ‘But I noticed this nice looking girl stuck in her car right next to me. Turning onto the Champs Elysees, he got stuck in the inevitable New Year’s Eve traffic jam. A year later, at 11.51 on 31 December 1981 to be precise, fate took hold of his life. So in 1980, leaving his family behind, Bahrami fled to Paris, speaking only English and Farsi. ‘But I had a friend called Reza who knew someone high up in the Iranian Government, and I got a visa to travel to France and Switzerland.’ ‘I didn’t know what I was going to do,’ Bahrami told me when we recalled those dramatic days in Iran’s history in a recent phone conversation. ‘Yes, please,’ I said quickly, and within a few minutes a remarkably unruffled Mansour appeared, picked up his tennis bag and went straight off to the Ghezira Club to practise. He needed to stretch his legs.īahrami was still playing under the Iranian flag at that time, but all that changed three years later when, in 1979, the Shah was ousted and tennis was banned by the new Islamic regime in Tehran which considered it an American capitalist sport. "About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.I think I used the art of friendly persuasion rather than an outright bribe on a friendly Sudanese doctor to get the certificate before flying up to Cairo, so I was well equipped when the Egyptian immigration official looked down his list of detainees and said, ‘Ah yes, Bahrami. He is everyone's favourite highlight at the annual Royal Albert Hall Black Rock Championships and at the Veterans Events at Wimbledon itself and at Hurlingham the week before. Eventually, he fled to France and, with great determination, reached the Men's Doubles Final of the French Open eight years later in 1989. Inspirational, funny and truly original, this is much more than a sports autobiography. Bahrami also talks about his friendships with some of the great tennis players - Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Ilie Nastase, Henri Leconte - and many others. Born in Iran, he was on the verge of breaking into top-flight tennis in the late 1970s when Ayatollah Khomeini ousted the Shah and swept to power. : The Court Jester: My Story (Paperback): Paperback. But few people know of his extraordinary early life. With his gift of showmanship, his special athletic talent and his famous trick shots, he is now instantly recognizable to tennis fans everywhere. Mansour Bahrami is one of the leading names on the Seniors Tennis Circuit. But, above all, it is Mansour Bahrami's undiminished passion for tennis and his amazing adventures on and off the court which make this book an exceptional read. It is the story of one man's success against all the odds, set against the backdrop of a country in the midst of revolution and war.
Seller Inventory # 9781438987941īahrami also talks about his friendships with some of the great tennis players - Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Ilie Nastase, Henri Leconte - and many others. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.
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