Steffi and Andre return to Wimbledon

This is a picture I never thought I’d see.

Andre Agassi, the 1992 Wimbledon champion, returned to the site of his first grand slam triumph to play the first match under a new retractable roof at the All England Club.

So who is the pretty blonde woman next to him? That’s his wife, Steffi Graf, winner of the ladies singles championship in 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995 and 1996. She also was runner-up in 1987 and 1999 and won the women’s doubles in 1988 with Gabriela Sabatini.

While Steffi dominated most of the years she played at Wimbledon, Andre actually didn’t bother to play it until 1991 even though he had for several years been one of the top players in the world. His semifinal matches against Patrick Rafter in 1999 and 2000 were among the best ever played on Centre Court.

After Steffi lost a singles match Sunday against Kim Clisters, Andre defeated retired British star Tim Henman. Then the four faced-off in a mixed doubles match won by Henman-Clisters by the close score of 7-6. Andre and Steffi never got to play doubles together at any official tournament since she retired right around the time they began dating. But I have a feeling they would have been unstoppable with their great speed and reflexes.

In case you’re wondering why a retractable roof is such a big deal at Wimbledon, it was demonstrated on Sunday when it began to rain. The wet weather that often plagues England during the two weeks Wimbledon is played caused huge problems for the tournament and its players.

But as a fan, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. During my trip to the tournament in 1991, the rain forced officials to hold play on the middle Sunday, traditionally a rest day. Tickets were sold on a first-come, first-serve basis and my friend Lorna and I found ourselves in the 12th row of Centre Court all day long for a feast of tennis matches featuring Jimmy Connors, Stefan Edberg, Gabriela Sabatini and others. And just when we thought play was done for the day, a mixed doubles match was moved to the court and one of the teams was a French player named Henri Leconte and his partner, Steffi Graf!

It was my greatest day ever as a tennis fan.

Anyway, here is some video from Sunday’s event: