‘He Took Off His Shirt…’- Andre Agassi’s Father Once Narrated a Violent Duel He Had With Steffi Graf’s Father

Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf are one of the most recognizable couples not only in tennis but in the entire sporting world. However, the first meeting of the fathers of the legendary tennis couple did not go as planned. The fathers of the two legendary players understood each other the moment they met. The competitive spirit of the two was bound to clash. This eventually led them to glorify their own child over the others. However, that was not it. After the debacle, they even found a common topic to talk about.

Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi are two of the most celebrated tennis players in the world. Their combined record of Grand Slam titles as a couple goes up to 30 in number.

How did the first meeting of the fathers of Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi go? 

His son Andre Agassi ousted his father, Emmanuel Agassi, in his book, ‘Open’. He talked about how his father had forced him into hours of training since he was a kid. In an old interview, Emmanuel Agassi agreed that he was harsh and strict with his son. Furthermore, he talked about his first meeting with Steffi Graf’s father, Peter Graf.

He said, “In our first match, he took off his shirt because he too had been a boxer and wanted to face me.” Emmanuel Agassi was a former Olympic boxer. He said, “We had a fight right away. Both aggressive and competitive.” Later on, he narrated how Mr. Graf taunted him by saying, “if Andre had copied Steffi’s cut backhand he would have won more.”

Obviously, this received an equal reaction from Agassi’s father. He said, “If Steffi had played Andre’s two-handed backhand she would now have ten more Grand Slams.”

READ MORE: ‘Fly Home and Slap My Kids’ – When Andre Agassi Displayed a Spontaneous Deadpan Humor Mocking His Children

However, that was not the end of the discussion and he told the interviewer, “Then the discussion turned to the ball machine.” Then they talked about the infamous ball machine, Dragon Ball, that Agassi used for his son to hit 2500 balls a day as a kid.

The glorious careers of Agassi and Graf

The legendary tennis couple were also two of the best players in the 90s in their respective circuits. Agassi won eight Grand Slam titles while Graf secured an astounding number of 22 major titles, only bettered by Serena Williams’ 23 titles in the Open Era.

WATCH THIS STORY: When Roger Federer toyed his opponent so bad, he asked for advice from Andre Agassi in the crowd Wimbledon championships

Both players are looked upon by tennis enthusiasts for their wondrous careers. However, surprisingly, the couple once described how they are happy that none of their children are following in their footsteps.