"From this day forward, there was no more regrets in life" - When Andre Agassi spoke about the impact of the year 1999 on his personal life with Steffi Graf
Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf are among the most admired couples in tennis history. The two got married in 2001 and have two children.
The 1999 French Open is a tournament that both legends will fondly remember. Agassi won the men's singles title by beating Andriy Medvedev in the final, while Graf won the women's singles title by defeating Martina Hingis in the title clash.
When the couple was interviewed by Swiss sports reporter Steffi Buchli in 2013, Agassi spoke about how impactful 1999 was for both of them. The American said that once they found each other, there were no more regrets in his life.
"This was a special year for both of us for a lot of reasons, but this tournament (French Open) particularly was on the court, one of my greatest memories for sure. The latter part of this year was when we found each other and life took on a whole new dimension. So, you could say that maybe there was destiny in some of it but, from this day forward, there was no more regrets in life for a lot of reasons,"Agassi said.
The eight-time Grand Slam singles champion also said that Graf's longtime coach Heinz Gunthardt had some reservations about him but eventually changed his mind, which made things a lot easier for the couple.
"Heinz has been such a great influence in Stef's life and certainly in her career. He leads her as a coach but also protects her, so he was not too sure about me in the beginning. But eventually he warmed up and made it a lot and when he did, it made it a lot easier," Agassi added.
"I think I never knew I wanted to get married" - Steffi Graf on her early thoughts about marrying Andre Agassi
During the interview, Steffi Graf was asked if she ever contemplated marrying Andre Agassi, to which the German said that the idea was not on her mind until 1999.
"I wish I would have known. I think I never knew I wanted to get married, that was not in my plans, not till 99. Even when we met, we were talking about children and marriage and I was saying 'No'", Graf said.
Graf had already retired from tennis at the time of her marriage while Agassi went on to play until 2006 before hanging up his racket, after that year's US Open.