Bahrami and the joy of playing to the crowd

Rafael Nadal at his best was incredible. The elegance of Roger Federer too. The dominance of Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic in their prime was equally impressive. Still, someone amazing in his own right, and far less known, is Mansour Bahrami. A successful doubles player hailed as "the Trick Shot King", he isn't hard to find on YouTube, where compilation after compilation captures the sheer joy he brought to courts around the world. Born in Iran and shaped by a nationwide tennis ban that arguably cost him a fair shot at competing on level terms, he kept a relentlessly optimistic outlook all the same. The joy in the way he plays, and simply in the way he is, is hard not to find inspiring. Spend a few minutes with his videos when you get the chance. It's hard not to come away smiling. As a way of nudging myself into a more positive mindset, and as a small counterweight to how much of the daily news pulls the other way, this post is the first of a few I want to keep writing, loosely…