Watch: Nadal hits running forehand slice winner to secure crucial hold
Jason Reed / REUTERS
#Nadal pic.twitter.com/M5fU8uffQ9
— doublefault28 (@doublefault28) January 29, 2017
Rafa Nadal was in a bit of a tricky spot, trailing Roger Federer two sets to one and trying desperately to preserve his one-break lead in the fourth.
Serving at 3-1, he'd let three game points slip away, and looked as though he'd make it a fourth. After an incredible defensive save, Federer squared up a nasty cross-court backhand that stretched Nadal from the deuce court to the ad doubles alley.
It was miraculous enough that Nadal got a racket on the ball. But he also managed to hit a lunging forehand hack-slice that landed for a short-angled winner to make it 4-1 as a stunned Federer looked on.
Nadal went on to win the set to push the match to a fifth, at which point Federer, finally, triumphed.
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