Friends, family in Palo Alto mourn tennis coach's death

PALO ALTO, Calif. (KGO) -- A memorial service was held Thursday evening for a young man who died after a street fight. Just days before Christmas, Oleg Talamai was punched in the head during an argument and suffered a traumatic brain injury. On Jan. 9, he died.

Police arrested Neil Rotroff and Akshay Mastaker after the attack.

Friends and family of the popular Bay Area tennis coach fought through tears as they remembered Talamai.

"We celebrate the life of Oleg and say a final farewell to our friend," mentor Kim Grant said.

"Oleg was a really, really great guy and I want his family to know how wonderful he was and he'll be missed," said a woman at the service.

Talamai emigrated from Belarus in 2012 and held several odd jobs, but had one passion that stayed with him -- he loved tennis and wanted to go pro one day. While in Belarus, he played on the national team. Here in the U.S., he was one of the most popular coaches at the Kim Grant Tennis Academy.

"He was always so upbeat and one of the hardest workers I've ever met. He brought a positive energy to work every day," friend Jed Friedman said.

The room was filled with young athletes -- tennis players Talamai pushed and inspired.

"He was just one of the best people in the world," 12-year-old Ishan Balakrishnan said.

"He never gave up on me whenever I messed up," 10-year-old Aditya Srinivasan said.

Friends set up a donation box and a GoFundMe page to raise money so Talamai can be buried beside his father in Belarus.