PHOTOS: What a love match! Tennis Star Proposes To Girlfriend On Court

On a small tennis court in the Netherlands, love took center-stage.

It had all the ingredients of a romantic fairytale -- the nervous suitor down on one knee in front of a crowd of strangers, hoping that months of planning would win the heart of the girl of his dreams.

"I didn't cry once when I practiced it in front of the mirror, it was the nerves that kicked in when I went on the court," Martin Emmrich, a doubles specialist seeking to find his life partner, told CNN's Open Court show.

"I was very afraid that I wouldn't find any words."

The German had met his love at the same tournament 12 months earlier -- but apart from that, the venue didn't hold great memories for her.

"She fainted once on that court, had a knee injury on that court," Emmrich explains.

Fast forward to June 2014, and Michaella Krajicek had just won her opening match of the Topshelf Open, which hosts both men's and women's competitions, when Emmrich made his big move.

To her surprise, Emmrich came onto the grass with a microphone in hand.

"I thought, 'Uh-oh it's going to happen now, I can't believe it!' " recalls the Dutchwoman, younger sister of former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek.

"I was standing there sweaty and wrapped in a tournament towel ... It was really romantic."

An emotional Emmrich couldn't control himself as he stood there in front of his wife to be

Five months of scheming, having involved the tournament's director three days beforehand, finally paid off as Krajicek said "Yes."

"I saw some players with tears in their eyes," Emmrich says.

"Everybody came up and said I have big balls. It's a big step, and doing it on such a stage..."

A wedding had been on their minds for a long time -- three months into the relationship, they were already talking about taking home the biggest trophy of their lives.

By January of this year, Emmrich was already planning how he would propose to his partner.

"I wrote down three papers, corrected them all, practiced 30-40 times in the bathroom," he says.

In a moment that Emmrich can only describe as "magic," Krajicek took his hand, hugged him and said yes -- to the cheers of joy ringing down from the stands.

Krajicek says she had "no idea" how Emmrich and his few accomplices managed to surprise her.

They are partners both on and off the court, playing in mixed doubles competitions together.

"I go on court, I still love him obviously, but it's business for me," says Krajicek.

For Emmrich, who has won three men's doubles titles with a highest world ranking of 35th last year, the chance to play with her adds another dimension to touring life.

"I totally enjoy it. I feel I am playing more free and easy than actual doubles," says the 29-year-old.

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