Crowds at the Wimbledon Tennis Championship this year were treated to two sets of entertaining tennis on July 13 when the 63-year-old Iranian Mansour Bahrami and his British doubles partner Chris Wilkinson (49) teamed up on central court in the second round of the Senior Gentlemen’s Invitation.
Their adversaries were the UK’s Andrew Castle, 55, and Jeremy Bates, 57. Bahrami and Chris Wilkinson lost the first set 6-4 to Andrew Castle and Jeremy Bates but won the second one 6-3.
Senior Gentleman’s Invitation matches are not intensely competitive, but rather exhibition games aimed at entertaining tennis fans and setting good examples for aspiring young players who may pursue a professional career in the sport.
Look who’s back…
At the age of 63, Mansour Bahrami’s still wowing the crowds here at #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/6lRf3aBCsV
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 9, 2019
Bahrami amazed and delighted the crowd with his signature trick shots and humorous interactions with the spectators, who laughed, clapped and cheered almost non-stop throughout the match.
TV sports presenters enjoy analyzing Bahrami’s complicated and challenging shots, which he makes look easy. The crowd particularly likes to watch Bahrami serve while holding six or seven balls in his left hand.
“Remarkably, at 63, Mansour can still perform these acrobatic feats on the court,” a BBC TV announcer said.
Former professional tennis player John Lloyd, who since the 1990s has been a tennis commentator and analyst for the BBC, said: “Mansour’s showmanship and style of playing is a strong source of inspiration for children and young players. We have seen many teenage players in tennis camps try to emulate him.”
[Translated from Persian by Fardine Hamidi]
