“Perfect Match” about Graf and Agassi
Game, set and match for a unique love
Toby Sebastian in particular looks extremely similar to the real Andre Agassi. But Lena Klenke also looks very similar to Steffi Graf.
© Bravado Media – MarVista Entertainment / Umberto Poto
“Perfect Match” tells the fairytale love story between Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi – with perfectly cast actors.
“The following film, its events and characters are fictitious. But it could have happened just like that.” With this text insert the film “Perfect Match” begins about the Hollywood-ready love affair between Steffi Graf (55) and Andre Agassi (54). Anyone interested in the film, which will be available on Prime Video from June 29, will basically know from the first second what to expect – and what not.
The US bon vivant and the “German robot” – that’s what it’s about
The two aspiring tennis stars Steffi Graf (Lena Klenke, 28) and Andre Agassi (Toby Sebastian, 32) could hardly be more different. He is an extroverted, flamboyant bon vivant who attracts attention with his (supposedly) long mane and the occasional escapade. She is a self-assured, (supposedly) humorless, thoroughbred professional, jokingly referred to as a “German robot” at one point in the film.
But the two are not as incompatible as they initially seem. Driven by an overambitious, domineering father, their passion for tennis is put to the test. And while the busy Andre secretly longs for a little stability and real love in his life, the good Steffi increasingly rebels against her old man. In short: they seem like the yin and yang of the tennis world, only whole together.
Real cornerstones linked with fiction
When you live (and love) in the public eye, it is inevitable that a lot of private things will come to light. Especially when you publish a highly candid autobiography like Agassi did with “Open” in 2009. As a result, the makers of “Perfect Match” already had a wealth of insights from off the tennis court to tell their love story.
Nevertheless, the decision was made to embellish the real facts with a lot of fiction. For example, when the outraged Steffi Graf visits her father (played by Michael Kessler, 57), who has been convicted of tax evasion, in prison and finally emancipates herself from him. The two fathers of the main characters also act as clear enemies in the film, are consumed by ambition and make their children’s lives hell time and time again.
Strong double
Whereas the series “Pam & Tommy” dramatized for the sake of obscenity and shock value, the fictionalization in “Perfect Match” is mostly done to create an almost fairytale-like kitsch. Even the most emotional scene in the film probably didn’t happen like that, but it still manages to skilfully portray the intimacy between the two: the moment when Agassi takes off his wig after a fun match with Graf, shows her his true self – and she thanks him for her trust.
“Perfect Match” hit the mark with its main actors. Visually, Klenke and especially Sebastian are very close to their real-life counterparts. The actress also skilfully imitates the mischievous, dry and quick-witted humor of the real Steffi Graf. And the chemistry between the two is also right – otherwise the film would have degenerated into an unnecessary double fault.
Conclusion:
Tennis is certainly not the focus of “Perfect Match”. While “Borg/McEnroe” with Shia LaBeouf and Sverrir Guðnason focused on their downright toxic rivalry and “Battle of the Sexes” with Emma Stone and Steve Carell focused on the eponymous man versus woman duel, tennis in “Perfect Match” serves as a vehicle for an incredible love story – and that is indeed what it was, despite all the fiction contained in the film.