VIDEO: Nadal defeats Djokovic in 'the best 3-set match ever' at the 2009 Madrid Open

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have played a lot of matches and quite a few have been memorable but this one might be the most memorable one.

It was the year 2009. and Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic met in the semifinals of the Madrid Open. The match lasted over 4 hours and it saw Nadal advance to the final against Roger Federer which he would lose. There are not a lot of Masters matches that went to four hours especially after switching from 3 sets to 2 but this one did.

Djokovic was superb from the start playing his best tennis yet and Nadal could not do much. He would lose the first set 6-3 but he did not give up. A very intense match became even more intense after the first set with the two next sets ending in a tiebreak. Nadal won the first tiebreak with 7-5 to send it to a final set.

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Djokovic still played well, some would argue his best tennis ever at the time but Nadal was still able to up him. The final set went to a tiebreak as well and it was a very close one. Nadal ultimately won it 11-9 after a strong forehand which Novak only hit into the net.

Nadal saved 2 MP's in that tiebreak to move on to the final. Many consider this the best 3-set match ever played and it's very hard to argue against it. Some say it's the best Djokovic vs Nadal match as well despite it not being a final. Either way it's a superb match and it deserves your attention so check out the highlights below.