"Steffi Graf is like French Open, I can't get across that finish line" - When Andre Agassi revealed his plan to approach Graf
In one of Andre Agassi's old interviews with former player and commentator Vijay Amritraj, the American revealed that he had a huge crush on Steffi Graf during the early 1990s. He even tried to get in touch with her multiple times but never succeeded.
The American eventually moved on and married actress Brooke Shields in 1997. However, the couple soon got divorced in 1999. It was then that the eight-time Grand Slam champion once again tried to impress Graf, and this time he succeeded.
Agassi and Graf eventually got married in 2001. The happy couple has been living in Las Vegas ever since, and has two children.
On a recent episode of the Almost Famous podcast, Barnaby Slater decided to read out the part where Agassi revealed details about how he and his coach Brad Gilbert planned their approach toward the icon in 1999.
Brad: That's your player right there (points to the TV), Steffi Graf. That's who you should be with.
Agassi: Yeah, right. She wants no part of me. I've tried and tried, no dice. Steffi Graf is like the French Open. I just can't get across that particular finish line.
Brad: That's all in the past. Besides, your approach back then was so un-Andre. Asking once and backing off, strictly amateur. Since when did you let other people run your game? Since when did you take no for an answer?
Agassi: The next tournament where Steffi and I are both scheduled to play is Key Biscayne. Brad says he'll get me close. He knows Steffi's coach Heinz Gunthardt. He'll talk to Heinz about setting up a practice session. The moment we arrive in Key Biscayne, Brad finds Heinz, who is surprised by the proposition. He says, 'No, Steffi would never agree to break her regular preparation schedule for a practice session with a stranger. She's shy and will be highly uncomfortable'.
Heinz got them to practice together for a while and Andre Agassi removed his shirt on the court to try and impress Graf. But according to Agassi, she didn't care for that at all.
They did end up talking for a while after the practice though, and things escalated from there on.
"My career would have been way better off without Pete Sampras" - Andre Agassi
Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi met each other 34 times, with Sampras leading 20-14 in the head-to-head. In an old interview, Agassi spoke about his rivalry with the 14-time Grand Slam winner, saying that his career would have turned out better if not for Sampras.
"Well, my career would have been way better off without Pete Sampras for sure (laughs). But I think I would've been, I would’ve been less," Andre Agassi said. "Pete was a mirror for me to look at myself and ask myself what can I do to be better or how I need to do something because he obviously dominated so much during his career and getting over the finish line against him were some of my greatest accomplishments."
"But Pete and I were that for each other in a lot of respects. If we were playing our best tennis, we still felt like we could lose and that feeling puts butterflies in your stomach,” he added.