Graf gives birth to Agassi's son: report

Seven-times Wimbledon champion Steffi Graf gave birth three weeks prematurely on Friday to a boy with the child's father Andre Agassi at her side, Germany's top selling Bild newspaper reported on Saturday.

The paper said the baby was born "without major complications" in a private clinic in Las Vegas in the early hours of Friday, weighing 2.6 kgs and measuring just 50 cms. Bild said the couple had not yet decided on a name.

Graf's marketing agency in the German town of Mannheim was not immediately available for comment on the report.

The couple were married last Monday in a private ceremony in Las Vegas. "We are so blessed to be married and starting this chapter of our lives," they said in a joint statement.

"The privacy and intimacy of our ceremony was beautiful and reflective of all we value."

Bild said a routine examination had shown that Graf, 32, might give birth early and that was the reason why the couple had organised their wedding so quickly and secretively.

Agassi, who has won seven Grand Slam singles titles and is second in the world rankings behind Brazil's Gustavo Kuerten, has pulled out of next week's Tennis Master Series in Paris because of his marriage to Graf, which he called "the greatest moment of my life".

It is the second marriage for Las Vegas native Agassi, 31, who wed actress Brooke Shields in 1997 after a much-publicised romance. The two were divorced in 1999.

It is the first marriage for Germany's Graf, who retired from professional tennis in 1999 after winning 22 grand slam singles titles and has since been a fixture at Agassi's matches. Graf topped the women's world rankings in 1987, holding the spot for a record three years.

In an interview in August, Agassi said he was overjoyed at Graf's pregnancy: "I am 100 per cent ready...I always wanted to start a family and Steffi somehow strengthened this wish."

Graf said last week that she wanted to get back to tennis after the birth and added that she can imagine her son will also play: "I think he will inherit a certain sporting ability."