Tennis legend, Martina Navratilova, popped the question to longtime partner, Julia Lemigova, making Saturday's U.S. Open championships a little more memorable.

The retired tennis player, 57, knelt down and proposed to her 42-year-old Russian model-girlfriend while commentating at the semifinal matches, reported Fox Sports.

People added that the event was telecast on the Jumbotron at New York's Arthur Ashe stadium in Flushing Meadows, drawing cheers from an inspired crowd. The stunt brought Lemigova to tears before embracing the athlete and saying yes.

The Czech-born Navratilova proposed during a break at the men's division, People said, adding that she was being interviewed by Ken Solomon in the Tennis Channel suite when she suddenly offered a diamond-studded ring to Lemigova.

The U.S. Open was one of the best places for Navratilova to pull that kind of surprise on her girlfriend, Time said. It's where she won four singles titles and nine doubles titles of her fabled 59 Grand Slam career, the publication explained. Thank god Lemigova said yes.

"I was very nervous. It came off. She said yes," Navratilova told the Associated Press. "It was kind of an out-of-body experience. You've seen people propose at sporting events before, in movies, in real life."

"Here it was happening to me. It was like I was watching myself do it," she added, as stated in the report.

According to AP, "Navratilova said somebody suggested she propose during a changeover in the first match between Kei Nishikori and Novak Djokovic, but she didn't want to disturb the players in any way. The only problem was that Navratilova was later scheduled to play a "Champions" doubles match with Jana Novotna against Tracy Austin and Gigi Fernandez. She tried unsuccessfully to get the start postponed without telling anybody why, so she was fretting that the Nishikori-Djokovic match would go five sets. Fortunately, it ended in four."

It's not going to be a fairy tale ending just yet, though, because same-sex marriage is not legal in Florida, where the couple lives and hopes to marry, Time reported. While a judge ruled that the ban in effect across the state is unconstitutional, as Time noted, Florida state officials have reportedly appealed the decision.

AP said that Navratilova considers the 1981 U.S. Open runner-up finish to Austin—during which the fans gave her a long ovation—as the first moment she felt accepted both as an American and a gay woman. At present, AP added, gay couples can marry in 19 states and the District of Columbia.

Hours after the proposal, women's world No.1 Serena Williams beat Caroline Wozniacki to join the ranks of Navratilova and Chris Evert, with 18 Grand Slam singles titles, Time added.