Mansour Bahrami, former Iranian tennis doubles finalist at the Roland Garros in 1989, revealed that Novak Djokovic approached him a few years ago and told him he was a fan of his tennis. Bahrami, 66, regularly participates in legends matches during Grand Slam tournaments and enjoys a reputation for being a great entertainer.
In fact, his games have become famous, characterized by a wide range of effect shots and fine touches, sometimes arousing the laughter of the crowd. Djokovic, a 21-time Grand Slam champion, said he was a big fan of Bahrami’s style and personality on the court.
Bahrami explained: “Novak Djokovic came to see me three years ago. We were in the locker room of Roland Garros. I was talking to Boris Becker and then Novak came over and said: Mansour, I’ve seen your videos and I love watching them.
I was very surprised and I was happy that he told me, that he had the honesty to tell me. I told him: Nole, you are number 1 in the world and thanks for asking me: if you want to try my shots it’s an honor for me, go ahead, help yourself!”
Bahrami tells how he started playing tennis
Iran is not a well-known country for tennis, but Mansour Bahrami was fortunate that his father worked as a gardener in a large sports complex that had a wide range of courts.
He also told: “In the 1960s, when I was a 5 year old, we had a large sports complex where all sports were played. My father was a gardener there. When I started walking, I could go to any sport without any problems.”
In singles, Bahrami has never been very successful, reaching at most the 192nd position of the ranking. However, Bahrami has had some success in doubles, most notably reaching the French Open final in 1989 paired with former French tennis player Eric Winogradsky, with whom he also won a title in Toulouse on synthetic.
