El Enlace de Ensueño - La Boda de Andre Agassi y Steffi Graf

Agassi had a crush on Graf prior to meeting her

Agassi developed a crush on his future wife before meeting her in person. “I’ve had a crush on Steffi since I first saw her doing an interview on French TV,” he wrote in his memoir Open. “I was thunderstruck, dazzled by her understated grace, her effortless beauty.”

Following the French Open in 1991, Agassi tried to get a message to his crush. “But she didn’t respond,” he shared in his book.

New Dominance, Injuries, and Final Tour Years

After dealing with a series of injuries and losses in the intervening years, Graf came back on top in 1993, winning three of four Grand Slam events in addition to the Virginia Slims championships. She won her first French Open since 1988, and conquered Wimbledon by defeating Jana Novotná. The next year, she won the Australian Open and an assortment of tournaments across the globe. However, while competing (and winning) in San Diego, Graf aggravated a long-time back injury, and developed a bone spur at the base of her spine due to a congenital condition. From 1994 to 1996, various ailments and surgeries disrupted her career, causing her to withdraw twice from the Australian Open. Despite the setbacks, Graf still managed to win a number of titles, including Wimbledon in 1995. The final of that championship is widely recognized as one of the most exciting in women's major finals history, with a dramatic third set that involved a 16-minute long, 13-deuce game.

Graf's final tour years from 1997 to 1999 were plagued with further injuries to her knees and back, causing her to lose her world number one ranking and, for the first time in a decade, the Grand Slam title. After racking up a handful of high-profile wins, Graf finally announced her retirement from the women's tour in 1999, attributing the decision to a loss of motivation.

Early Life and Career Beginnings

Stefanie Maria Graf was born on June 14, 1969 in Mannheim, West Germany, the daughter of Heidi Schalk and Peter Graf. Her father was an aspiring tennis coach, introducing Graf to the game by teaching her how to wield a wooden racket at the age of three. At the age of four, she began practicing on court, and entered her first tournament when she was five. Soon enough, she was winning the top prize at numerous junior tournaments.

(Photo by Bob Martin/Getty Images)

Graf began 1988 by defeating Chris Evert and winning the Australian Open, not losing a single set during the tournament. She then won the tournament in Berlin, defended her title at the French Open, and conquered Wimbledon by coming from behind to defeat Navratilova. Finally, upon winning the US Open, Graf took the Grand Slam title, the only such title in history completed across three surfaces: clay, hard court, and grass. The cherry on top of this honor came during the summer Olympic Games in Seoul, where Graf beat Gabriela Sabatini in the gold medal match, and became the first and only Golden Slam winner in history.

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