tennis greatest entertainer

May 20, 2011 2:04 PM

Mansour Bahrami - Tennis Greatest Entertainer
posted by MechEng (18 comments total)

I don't understand what happened in the very first clip.
posted by eugenen at 2:10 PM on May 20, 2011

It's not your fault.
posted by starman at 2:17 PM on May 20, 2011

Were all of those actual games/legal? Seems unlikely, but I can hardly tell what's going on in half of these and it's not like I know much about tennis.
posted by cmoj at 2:22 PM on May 20, 2011

I have never heard of the Mansour before, but I get the impression that he's the Uptown Professor of Applied Physics at Globetrotter U.
posted by Panjandrum at 2:25 PM on May 20, 2011 [2 favorites]

The description mentions his website, where you can buy his DVD (approx 4.5 hours of Mansour! Two different links to buy the DVD! One gets warnings from Firefox! Possibly a scam!)

Alternatively, you can read his unverified Wiki biography, which have some oddly promotional language for the guy:

His weakness and indeed his strength was an inescapable thirst for providing a crowd with a show. He often lost in the early rounds of singles tournaments due to his tendency to play trick shots from the off or when he was bored with winning too easily. He was able to play more seriously in doubles where he felt that he could not be seen to be letting his partner down.

CBS News has an additional note on the OP video:

The Iranian-born Bahrami never made much of an impact in the pro league (they tend to frown on moves like catch-the-ball-and-hit-a-new-one) but has found great success on the Champions Tour, where retired pros and fan favorites play for entertainment rather than trophies. It's not hard to see why either. How can your opponent return your serve when he's laughing so hard?

And this site states he still travels some 40 weeks of the year playing "exhibition tournaments" where he shows off his trick shots and whatnot.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:38 PM on May 20, 2011

I like the part where he is obviously having a wonderful time and doing something he loves. If everyone's profession provided them that much joy, the world would be a different place.
posted by tomswift at 2:43 PM on May 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

I wish the video was higher quality, because the sections that are sharp are amazing. I read about this person, i think in a tennis magazine. It's great to see some of those shots.
posted by cccorlew at 2:59 PM on May 20, 2011

I'm an Henri Laconte girl where all round tennis entertainment is concerned, but Mansour Bahrami is terrific value. I've seen him a couple of times and not only is he a funny guy but some of his shot making verges on the magical.
posted by joannemullen at 3:08 PM on May 20, 2011

He's the Victor Borge of tennis.
posted by sciurus at 3:19 PM on May 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

You can see the details of his moves in this slo-mo point.
posted by zippy at 3:31 PM on May 20, 2011

I was just going to say: some of those were just legitimately great shots, and the rest I really enjoyed in a Victor Borge-ish way. And I bet Victor Borge is the single least hip thing in the universe that a person can find funny (2nd place: Guy Noir?) but I still laugh.
posted by penduluum at 3:31 PM on May 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

Was that John McEnroe that he resuscitated?

Also, I wouldn't talk shit about Guy Noir if I were you. Minnesota can be a very dark place.
posted by hal_c_on at 4:19 PM on May 20, 2011

8 minutes well spent!

Thanks, MachEng.
posted by jaruwaan at 5:05 PM on May 20, 2011

Gah, 320p?

Not many sports have been helped by the move to HD more than tennis. It hurts me that there will never be an HDTV broadcast of a Sampras/Agassi final.
posted by mhoye at 5:42 PM on May 20, 2011

I don't understand what happened in the very first clip.

Tough to see, but I think he hit the serve to spin away to the opponents left (off the court). What is amazing about this is that it is the opposite spin that you would expect from a right hander - so it was inside out.
posted by Edward L at 8:13 PM on May 20, 2011

His trick serve (where he swings past the ball and underhands it instead) is friggin awesome.
posted by antifuse at 11:43 AM on May 21, 2011

incredibly skilled man, and still packs a phenomenal serve at his age.
posted by spacediver at 11:56 AM on May 21, 2011

What's wrong with Guy Noir?
posted by cmoj at 9:16 PM on May 21, 2011