Watch: Throwback to when Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic played doubles together in Toronto
On 10 August 2010, World No. 1 Rafael Nadal and World No. 2 Novak Djokovic joined forces to play doubles together for the first and only time in their careers.
The duo, dubbed the "Dream Team", faced the wildcard Canadian pairing of Vasek Pospisil and Milos Raonic in the opening round of the Toronto Masters.
It was the first time the top two players in the ATP rankings had formed a doubles pair since Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe teamed up in 1976.
Context
According to Tennis.com, the two greats initially considered playing doubles together in 2009, although the idea never came to fruition. They then agreed to form a team at the 2010 Canadian Open in Toronto after Djokovic called Nadal to raise the prospect once again.
The Spaniard, then aged 24, had won eight Grand Slam titles and was in the midst of arguably his greatest ever season in 2010. Prior to Toronto, he had won five titles (Monte-Carlo, Rome, Madrid, the French Open, and Wimbledon), and he would add two more, including the US Open, a month later.
The Serb, 23 at the time, was still searching for his second Major after his maiden triumph at the 2008 Australian Open. Before the event, he had won one of his two titles in 2010 in Dubai in February, while his best Grand Slam result was reaching the Wimbledon semifinals the previous month.
Nadal had won 14 of the 21 matches the pair had contested at the time, although Djokovic had won the previous three (all in 2009).
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic lose their only match as a doubles team
Nadal had won six ATP doubles titles at the time, including the Indian Wells Masters earlier that season. Meanwhile, Djokovic had claimed what remains his only doubles title - with Jonathan Erlich - at the Queen's Club Championships two months prior.
The top two men's singles players at the time fell 5-3 behind in the opening set, before saving two set points and winning four straight games to clinch it 7-5. The Canadian team hit back in the second set and broke to go 5-3 up. This time around, they had no trouble serving out the set to force a 10-point match tie-break.
Nadal and Djokovic fell 8-2 down in the decisive tie-break, but fought back by winning six of the next seven points and saving three match points. Serving at 9-8, Pospisil and Raonic sealed victory at the fourth opportunity to end the run of their star-studded opponents at the first hurdle.
Nadal and Djokovic met on the singles court in the final of the US Open a month later, with the Spaniard triumphing in four sets.
The legendary duo now share one of the greatest rivalries in tennis history. They have met a total of 58 times - a men's Open Era record - with the Serb holding a 30-28 edge.