Every day, Tennis Majors transports you back in time to relive a particular day in tennis history. In the semi-finals of the Madrid Masters 1000 on this day in 2009, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic engaged in the longest three-set encounter in the history of the ATP Masters 1000.

WHAT WENT UP THAT DAY?

The longest three-set match in ATP Masters 1000 history was played on this day, May 16, 2009, during Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic’s semifinal match at the Madrid Masters 1000. Nadal, who had only lost three games on red dirt in the previous four years, triumphed once more after four hours and three minutes of play and after he saved three match points (3-6, 7-6, 7-6 (9). It was the first great battle in the rivalry between the two players, which would peak three years later at the 2012 Australian Open, even though it was already the eighteenth meeting between them.

 

NOVAK DJOKOVIC AND RAFAEL NADAL

were the players. The unchallenged King of Clay is Nadal. Just a few weeks shy of turning 23 in May 2009, Rafael Nadal was the unchallenged world No. 1 player.

He had primarily dominated the clay-court game in his early career, having won 10 Masters 1000 titles, the previous four Roland-Garros events, and an 81-match winning streak between 2005 and 2007.

But the Manacor left-hander had steadily raised his level on fast courts, and in 2008, at the All England Club, he finally overcame Roger Federer in one of the greatest tennis matches ever, winning 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7. Federer had defeated him twice at Wimbledon, in 2006 and 2007.

Shortly after winning the gold medal at the Olympics in Beijing (overcoming Fernando Gonzalez in the championship match, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3), he rose to the top of the world rankings on August 18, breaking Roger Federer’s record of 237 weeks at the top spot. He advanced to the US Open semifinals for the first time, losing to Andy Murray 6-2, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4. He then won his first Grand Slam match on hard courts at the 2009 Australian Open, where he defeated fellow countryman Fernando Verdasco in a thrilling semifinal match (6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4), before triumphing over Federer once more in the championship match (7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2). Having won the titles in Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, and Rome while dropping just one set, he is currently more dominant than ever on clay.

Djokovic: The heir apparent, biding his time for glory Djokovic had recently lost his world No. 3 ranking, which he had held since July 2007, a few days before his 22nd birthday. In his early career, the Serbian climbed the ATP ranks swiftly.

In 2007, he won his first Masters 1000 in Miami, defeating Guillermo Canas 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, and going to his first major final at the US Open, where he was defeated 7-6, 7-6, 6-4 by Roger Federer. It appeared that he was prepared to go for the top spot in the world rankings when he won his maiden Grand Slam championship at the Australian Open in January 2008, defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6) following his victory over Roger Federer in the semifinals (7-5, 6-3, 7-6).

His dreams of topping the rankings were dashed, though, by a humiliating defeat to Rafael Nadal in the second round of Wimbledon. Djokovic did win the Masters Cup for the first time, defeating Nikolay Davydenko 6-1, 7-5, in the final, but he ended the season ranked third, a few points behind Roger Federer. During the first few months of 2009, Djokovic seemed to be having trouble with his serve.

He also noticed that Andy Murray, his adversary, was growing closer to him every week after the Scot lost the Australian Open.

On May 11, Murray passed him in the ATP rankings. THE LOCATIONS: MADRID’S CAJA MAGICA Since 2002, Madrid has served as the site of a Masters 1000 competition. But up until 2008, the Madrid Arena’s indoor courts hosted the competition in October.

The Hamburg Open in the Masters 1000 division was replaced by the Madrid Open in April 2009 when the ATP schedule was rearranged. It was now played on clay at the Caja Magica, a new facility featuring three courts with retractable roofs that was constructed especially for the event.

The location’s height (700 metres) also affected the game, making it more difficult to control the balls since they travelled faster and bounced higher.

 

THE FACTS: NADAL OVERCOMES DJOKOVIC BY SAVING MATCH POINTS

Nadal won 13 of the 17 meetings between him and Djokovic in 2009, establishing a commanding lead in their rivalry. It was difficult to even discuss a rivalry on clay because Nadal had just defeated the Spaniard in the finals of both Monte-Carlo (6-3, 2-6, 6-1) and Rome (7-6, 6-2).

The Spaniard had never lost against the Serb. But ever since their first match at Roland-Garros in 2006, Djokovic had always thought he had what it took to beat the King of Clay on his preferred surface, so he was fired up to defeat the Bull of Manacor in the Madrid semifinals.

With a 6-3 first-round victory over a hesitant Nadal, the Serb got off to the greatest possible start. Djokovic maintained his excellent play in the second set, and when he secured break points at 4–4, it appeared as though he would be the fourth player (together with Igor Andreev, Juan Carlos Ferrero, and Roger Federer) to beat Nadal on clay since 2005. Nevertheless, the Spaniard persevered and ultimately prevailed in the second set (7-6). The match reached its climax in a mind-boggling third set in which Djokovic led 3-1 before his opponent battled back.

In a match that lasted four hours and three minutes, the longest three-set match ever seen in a Masters 1000 event, Nadal ultimately prevailed, 11-9, but it was fitting that such an epic match had to end in a deciding set tie-break, where the Serb obtained three match points at 6-5, 7-6, and 9-8.

Djokovic was very unhappy with the result of his clay match against the Bull of Manacor, as ATPtour.com reported. He had won 37 games and more points than his opponent, but he had still lost. “It is quite disheartening to perform as well as I have and still come up short in the game.” I had one of my greatest games ever. Even if I played a few points over my head, I still lost.

Nadal, on the other hand, was relieved to be present at the news conference even though he wasn’t satisfied with his performance in the opening set. “I think you need luck to win in a game like that with so many match points, there’s no doubt about that, but I played with great courage, and I believe everything went well for me.” I didn’t play well in the first set, and it seemed pretty hopeless. However, I believe that over time, I was able to find my rhythm and play well.

Nadal was relieved to be over with the match, but Federer was still waiting for him in the championship match.

 

FEDERER OVERCOMES NADAL IN THE FINAL

The next day, Federer would overcome a tired Rafael Nadal on red dirt for the second and final time (6-4, 6-4), after the player had called the physio multiple times. A few weeks later, the unthinkable would finally occur: Nadal would lose to Robin Soderling, whom he had defeated 6-1, 6-0, in the round of 16 at Roland-Garros, 6-2, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6. A knee injury would wreck the Spaniard’s season; he would miss Wimbledon, where he was the defending champion, lose his world No. 1 ranking in July, and not win another match until the 2010 Monte-Carlo Masters.

Regarding Djokovic, he experienced multiple setbacks in 2009 and 2010 before ultimately securing the top spot in the world rankings in 2011, capping one of the most remarkable tennis seasons in history.

Even though these two exceptional athletes would square off 59 more times, including multiple Grand Slam finals, their matchup in the 2009 Madrid Open would go down as one of their most memorable exchanges.