"Probably the toughest accomplishment, beating Steffi at anything" - When Andre Agassi surpassed his wife Steffi Graf's Miami Open title record
American tennis sensation Andre Agassi once opened up about how he felt after breaking his wife Steffi Graf's title win record at the Miami Open.
Agassi won a record sixth Miami Open tennis title and his third in a row by beating Carlos Moya of Spain 6-3, 6-3 to win the Masters series tennis tournament back in 2003. The tournament was then called the NASDAQ-100 Open.
With that victory, the American surpassed his wife Steffi Graf's record at the tournament. The 22-time Grand Slam winner won the tournament five times. He currently shares the tournament record with fellow six-time Miami Open champion and World No.1 Novak Djokovic.
Agassi, who made only 13 unforced errors and 28 winners in the hour-and-11-minute-long match, said afterwards in an interview with The New York Times that surpassing his wife Steffi Graf was likely the "toughest accomplishment" for him, adding that the wind and heat played a major role in his victory.
''The wind, the heat, through my history, those have all sort of been assets for me. That was probably the toughest accomplishment here, beating Steffi [Graf] at anything," Agassi said.
The American, who was 32 at the time, was suffering from shoulder pain and decided only three days before the tournament's start that his shoulder had improved sufficiently for him to play. Remarking on this, Agassi said that it wasn't an "ideal" situation, and he hoped he wouldn't lose his competitive edge and his leg snap.
''That's never ideal, especially as you get older. You just do hope that you don't lose that edge to your game, that snap in your legs, that little bit extra that does make the difference. I had ripped a couple balls pretty deep and hard and he was sort of in the defensive position,'' Agassi said.
What are Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf doing now?
Agassi and Graff, two of the greatest tennis players of their generation, decided to tie the knot 21 years ago. Graf gave birth to their first child, Jaden Gil, on October 26, 2001, and their daughter Jaz Elle was born two years later. They remain happily married, living in Las Vegas, and have been involved in a lot of charity work over the years.
Their son, Jaden Agassi, has chosen to be a professional baseball player. He is currently a pitcher for the Trojans, representing the University of Southern California. Their daughter, Jaz Elle Agassi, on the other hand, is not associated with the sporting world and appears to be attempting to make a name for herself in the fashion world.