While Bahrami was a youngster, he was
a ball boy at a Tehran country club and that is where he taught himself
tennis. There are reports that his first racquet was a dustbin lid
and a wooden handle. Although this is probably more fiction than fact
one thing remains clear, his tennis name grew in the world only when
he left Iran.
After the Iranian revolution, Bahrami came face to face with the closure
of most tennis courts as well as the general repression caused by
the new regime. Like thousands of other Iranians, he left Iran for
safer locales in 1981 and reestablished himself in France.
He was not able to travel at first because of certain immigration
issues and by the time he became a French citizen, he had already
turned 30 and his best days in singles were already behind him.
Although Bahrami put together a string of five titles in doubles,
it was the seniors’ tour that gave Bahrami his fame. Bahrami, is now
world famous for his trick shots delivered with a bright smile and
funny disposition.
It is routine for the crowd watching his game to call out for certain
tricks they would like to see. His pretends to have missed a volley
only to return it in the nick of time. He throws up the ball some
ten feet in the air and to the amazement of all, catches it in his
pocket. When he wins, and it is often, you wonder if he had mesmerized
the opposition or played a better game?
Bahrami is one of the few good things that came out of the revolution.
Had he been able to play his days in Iran, the world may have never
had the chance to see his magic and we would have all been worse off
for that.
Angie Bagheri,
Since we re on the subject let us introduce you to another very
talented tennis player. She is a ranked player in California and
keeps improving, all while maintaining a 4.0GPA.
Angie was born November 27, 1980 in Orlando, Florida to Asgar Bagheri
and Mahnaz Farhat. Since she attended le Lycee she is trilingual
in French, Farsi, and English. She was introduced to tennis at the
age of 13, which is somewhat late to become a world-class player.
Angie is majoring in biology at Cal Poli.
Her
Record:
2001 finished with a winning record of 14-11 on
the season, going 3-1 at #1 singles. 1-0 at #2 doubles with Lindsey
Irons-Kilmer and also 1-0 with Sandra Tabata at #3 doubles 2000
compiled a 15-11 record on the season went 9-8 at #2 singles 2-2
with Danielle Brandlin at #1 doubles 1999 went 14-11 overall, including
an 8-7 record at #1 singles, 4-3 at #2, and 2-1 at #3 went 5-4 in
doubles with Sandra Tabata High School 1998 graduate of Le Lycée
Français in Los Angeles, CA played at #1 singles her freshman
year, compiling a 14-9 record ranked #20 in southern California
kept a 4.0 GPA throughout high school 
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