"He brought me back to tennis, too, which I probably didn't think would happen" - When Steffi Graf spoke about Andre Agassi's role in making her transition into retirement easier

Back in 1999, Steffi Graf affirmed that Andre Agassi had made her transition into retirement easier.

Graf had an illustrious career, winning 22 Grand Slam singles titles. She announced her retirement from tennis in 1999, the year she won her sixth and final French Open crown.

Graf's final match came against Amy Frazier at the 1999 TIG Classic in San Diego. The scorecard read 4-6, 7-5, 2-1 in favor of the latter when the German was forced to retire due to an injury.

A few months later, a ceremony was held at Madison Square Garden to honor Graf. This was the same venue where the 1999 WTA Tour Championships (now known as the WTA Finals) were taking place.

Graf spoke to the press and was asked if her partner Andre Agassi had made the transition into retirement any easier for her. The German responded by saying that he did, and that he had also brought her back to tennis - something she didn't think would happen.

"Yeah, he has. No question. He brought me back to tennis, too, which I probably didn't think that would happen. But yeah, he has in a way for sure," Steffi Graf said.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion also stated that she was satisfied with the way she had left tennis, and that it gave her the peace to go on with different things in life.

"Very much. And I think that's made it easy the last few months. I've felt that whatever I've done in my career gave me so much satisfaction to kind of look forward to what's coming -- what's out there besides tennis. I feel very happy about the time that I've played and what I've achieved, and how I went about it. And that gives me the peace to go on with different things in my life," Graf said.

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"It was very moving for me" - Steffi Graf on the ovation she received at Madison Square Garden

Steffi Graf after the 1993 Wimbledon final

Asked about her emotions during the ovation she received from the crowd at Madison Square Garden, Steffi Graf admitted that she was nervous and that she had not slept at all the previous night. She also said that the ovation was very moving for her.

"Very nervous. All day, I did not sleep at all last night, not one minute. Yeah, it's incredible. It's overwhelming to be out there, and, you know, I went on court and everybody stood up and cheered for such a long time. It was very moving for me," Steffi Graf said.