SI.com takes a look at our favorite sports marriages.
Andre Agassi & Steffi Graf
Married: October 2001
Professional impact
Graf was retired by the time the couple became an item, but Agassi certainly has benefited from the union. Andre has won four of his eight career grand-slam titles since Steffi came into his life, and his winning percentage of 78.3 percent from August 1999 (when the two were first seen together) is better than his career average of 76.1 percent. His average during his relationship and failed marriage to actress Brooke Shields was 76.3 percent.
He said
"I feel like I'm a little lighter in my shoes, it makes me kind of run a little bit quicker because I feel like a stud. Sex doesn't interfere with the tennis. It's staying out all night trying to find it that affects your tennis."
Love note
The couple made a bet that if Andre won the Australian Open, Steffi would come out of retirement to be her husband’s partner in mixed doubles at the French Open. The 2003 Aussie Open champ says he’s making progress in convincing his wife to hold up her end of the bargain.
Ray Knight & Nancy Lopez
Married: October 1982
Professional impact
After Lopez married Knight, family may have become her focus, but she won more than 20 times as a mother.
She said
"I was at that game [in New York in 1986]. I thought it was all over and we had lost. But then the ball went through Bill Buckner's legs and Ray scored, and I couldn't stop crying I was so happy. It was just awful what happened to Buckner, though."
He said
"I try to encourage her and give her positive reinforcement. I try to do that during rounds when I can. She did that for me in baseball, because of her understanding of the pressures, and I do the same thing."
Love note
Knight has beaten Lopez in golf once during their 20-year marriage.
Bart Conner & Nadia Comaneci
Married: April 1996
How they met
Conner and Comaneci met in 1976 at the American Cup at Madison Square Garden in New York, where he won the men's title and she won the women's. He was 18 and she was 14. As the men’s title winner, he was asked to kiss her for the photographers. Nadia says that all she remembered was that the American team was full of blonde men.
She said
"I never thought I would be standing here, married to an All-American guy, living in Oklahoma," she said when she became an American citizen. "What a country."
He said
"Most guys brag that their wives are a 10. My wife is the 10."
Love note:
Conner proposed over dinner in Amsterdam in November 1994. But
it took him so long to pop the question -- years of
courting, then hours at the restaurant -- that when he pulled a
diamond-laden engagement ring out of his pocket, one of
Comaneci's first responses was, "Finally!"
Terry Bradshaw & JoJo Starbuck
Married: 1976
Divorced: 1981
Source of the friction
"Ice Dancing." Bradshaw insisted that his wife stay home in Pittsburgh rather than reopen her skating tour. Only the threat of a breach-of-contract suit persuaded him to relent.
She said
"Terry wants me home -- period. But sometimes when I'm there, he seems to take me for granted. And after a few days at the ranch, I go out of my mind."
He said
"All she wanted to do was spend my money ... and skate."
Post-divorce paths
After Starbuck ended their four-year marriage in August 1980, Bradshaw never won another playoff game. But he did become a successful TV analyst.
John Lloyd & Chris Evert
Married: 1979
Divorced: 1987
Source of the friction
They couldn't synchronize their busy schedules long enough to keep the marriage alive.
Post-divorce paths
Evert went on to marry -- and divorce -- another athlete, this time a champion skier. Evert and Lloyd recently reunited as BBC commentators.
C.J. Hunter & Marion Jones
Married: 1998
Divorced: 2002
Source of the friction
At the Sydney Olympics, Hunter managed to overshadow Jones's feat of five medals by testing positive for a banned substance. After it was learned that Hunter's test result was for 1,000 times the legal level, Jones filed for divorce.
She said
"I am enjoying life. I have had a blast after my races in Paris, Rome and Nice. I've had time this year to do some shopping and a little sightseeing."
Post-divorce paths
Hunter has pretty much fallen off the face of the earth, while Jones can still be seen all over the place, even in the "On Deck" section below.
Don Drysdale & Anne Meyers
Married: 1986-1993
How they met
Mr. and Mrs. Hall of Fame met when she was a professional basketball player participating in the women's "Superstars" competition in the Bahamas and he a broadcaster covering the event. Meyers never saw Drysdale pitch. They met in 1979, and Meyers "didn't have a clue of who he was."
Final parting
Drysdale died of a heart attack in 1993 at age 56. Meyers was left with three youngsters -- two boys and a girl.
Al Joyner & Florence Griffith
Married: 1987-1988
How they met
Joyner and Griffith met at the 1980 U.S. Olympic trials and married in 1987. A year later, Griffith-Joyner was the star of the Seoul Olympics, winning the 100m and 200m in world-record times.
Final parting
Griffith-Joyner died in 1998 at age 38 after suffering a seizure in her sleep. Today Joyner coaches Flo-Jo's niece, Darnesha Griffith, who is a U.S. college champion high-jumper.
Nomar Garciaparra & Mia Hamm
Status: Engaged
How they met
The two met in 1998 when Garciaparra, who could have gone to college on a soccer scholarship, lost a charity penalty-kick contest to Hamm at Harvard.
She said
"We're both very competitive. We were both trying pretty hard."
He said
"You knew I wasn't going to win, you kidding me? I lost by one [4-3]; it wasn't a bad match."
Love note
A self-professed old-fashioned guy, Nomar went down on one knee to pop the question to Mia.
Lleyton Hewitt & Kim Clijsters
Status: Dating
How they met
Hewitt and Clijsters met the 2000 Australian Open, when Clijsters asked Hewitt for an autograph for her sister, Elke.
He said
"Watching Kim affects me. I want her to win every time she steps on the court. It's tough. When you're out there, you don't feel those same sorts of pressures. You're sitting off the court and you're thinking, 'Get a first serve in here,' and then they miss it. I couldn't do it week in and week out."
Love note
Clijsters is considering becoming an Australian citizen, while maintaining her Belgian citizenship.
Tim Montgomery & Marion Jones
Status: Dating
How they met
After finishing a disappointing sixth in the 100 at the 2000 Olympic trials, Montgomery joined coach Trevor Graham's Raleigh, N.C.-based training group in the fall and was immediately influenced by Jones, who had just won an unprecedented five medals in the Sydney Olympics.
He said
"We train together every day. We do 1,000 sit-ups a day. We train on Sundays. It's like having my shadow right beside me."
