"There is nothing about this Steffi Graf is going to enjoy" - When Andre Agassi admitted his wife would hate playing doubles with him post-retirement

Andre Agassi once made an intriguing bet involving his wife, fellow tennis legend Steffi Graf, to play mixed doubles together despite her retirement. The wager was predicated on the American winning the 2003 Australian Open.

That year, Agassi entered the Melbourne Slam as the second seed and delivered an impressive campaign to reach the semifinals, where he took on Wayne Ferreira. The American dominated the clash, claiming a 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 victory to book his place in the final.

Speaking in his on-court interview, Agassi disclosed that if he triumphed in the final, Steffi Graf would play mixed doubles with him at the French Open later that year, even though she had retired from professional tennis in 1999.

"If I win here, Stef has to play doubles with me in Paris. You can print that and I’ll hold you to it," Agassi said.

Agassi delivered on his end, beating Rainer Schuttler 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 in the final to clinch his fourth Australian Open title. During his post-match press conference, the American stated that Graf wasn't thrilled about the idea of getting back out on court.

"Yeah, she's not too pleased about that, but (laughter)... Hopefully I'll have 50 years with her to be mad at me about more things," he said.

Agassi also emphasized that getting Graf to make a comeback would be very difficult since the German wouldn't enjoy playing doubles with him after ending her career.

"We have a lot to talk about before we get to the conversation of which side of the court she's going to be playing (shaking his head). I don't think anybody appreciates how hard this is going to be for me to get her out there (laughter)," Agassi added. "There is nothing about this she is going to enjoy."

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Andre Agassi: "It's going to be my responsibility to make it happen... I got to make it up to Steffi Graf somehow"

Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi - Source: Getty

Andre Agassi took responsibility for persuading Steffi Graf to partner him in mixed doubles at the 2003 French Open, humorously remarking that he would owe her for the favor.

"It's going to be my responsibility to make it happen. I'm the one that said it, so... (Smiling). I got to make it up to her somehow. Count on me to work on it," Agassi said during the same press conference.

Despite Agassi's assurances to work on convincing the 22-time Grand Slam champion, the power couple ultimately did not compete in mixed doubles at the claycourt Major.

Andre Agassi did enter the men's singles draw as the second seed, on the hunt for his second French Open title. The American made a stellar run to the quarterfinals before suffering a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 loss to Guillermo Coria.