Novak Djokovic v Rafael Nadal -- six of the best

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal meet for the 35th time on Friday when they clash for a place in the French Open final.

AFP Sports looks at six classic encounters between the two:

2013 Monte-Carlo Masters final

Djokovic bt Nadal 6-2, 7-6 (7/1)

- Djokovic, despite arriving in the principality with an ankle injury picked up on Davis Cup duty, ended Nadal’s eight-year dominance of the event which had stretched for 46 matches. The win was Djokovic’s 14th Masters title and 37th trophy overall. Djokovic also became the first player to beat Nadal three times in a claycourt final, ending the Spaniard’s 81-match winning streak on clay in the month of April, a run that started in Valencia in 2005.

2012 French Open final

Nadal bt Djokovic 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5

- In a final played over two days due to rain, the six-time champion in Paris led by two sets and a break before the Serb rallied to win eight consecutive games en route to clinching the third. Djokovic was 2-1 up with a break in the fourth when play was suspended for the day. When the final resumed on Monday, Nadal broke back to level at 2-2 and went on to wrap up victory in three hours and 49 minutes. Djokovic was looking to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slam titles.

2012 Australian Open final

Djokovic bt Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5/7), 7-5

- Djokovic extended his winning streak to seven over Nadal in the longest Grand Slam final on record over five hours and 53 minutes, beating the previous record of four hours and 54 minutes when Mats Wilander defeated Ivan Lendl at the 1988 US Open. Djokovic had trailed 2-4 in the fifth set while Nadal had never previously lost a Grand Slam final after winning the first set.

2011 Madrid Masters final

Djokovic bt Nadal 7-5, 6-4

- Djokovic wins for a 34th consecutive time by ending Nadal’s 37-match unbeaten run on clay by beating the defending champion 7-5, 6-4. It was also Djokovic’s first win over Nadal on clay after nine previous failed attempts. “Under the circumstances, I’ve played probably the best match of my life on clay against the world number one and the player to beat on this surface,” said the Serb.

2010 US Open final

Nadal bt Djokovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2

- Nadal won his first US Open title to become the seventh man to complete the career Grand Slam. In a match bedevilled by rain — the final was delayed by a day before a two-hour stoppage on Monday — the Spaniard dropped a set for the first time at the tournament. Nadal pressed and pressed, creating 16 break point chances in the final two sets.

2009 Madrid Masters semi-finals

Nadal bt Djokovic 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (11/9)

- Nadal saved three match points in a dramatic final-set tie-break after four hours and two minutes in what was believed to be the longest best-of-three sets match in the Open era. It was the first time Nadal had played a third set tie-break on clay since July, 2003, when he lost to Nicolas Lapentti at Bastad. Nadal’s first break point of the match only came in the second set tie-break. Djokovic was 3-1 ahead in the decider before Nadal hit back in the fourth game. The Serb was unable to convert any of his three match points while Nadal squandered one before he settled himself to take the tie.