Hot Shot: Nadal finesses impeccable match-point winner

Rafael Nadal isn't just marching toward a mind-boggling 12th title in Barcelona—he's doing it with style.

The King of Clay defeated an in-form Jan-Lennard Struff, 7-5, 7-5, on Friday, but the crazy part was how he secured the win.

Struff, down two match points, served and came to the net, punching a volley that should have been out of Nadal's reach. But Nadal, on a stadium court named after himself, managed to not only get to the ball, but to also curl in a sliding pass:

Struff, ranked No. 51, had previously strung together wins against David Goffin and Stefanos Tsitsipas. He also recently beat Denis Shapovalov in the first round of Monte Carlo.

Nadal's dominance had been called into question recently by his Monte Carlo loss to Fabio Fognini, and by his dropping his first set in Barcelona to Leonardo Mayer, but this quarterfinal performance indicates he's doing just fine.

For the semifinals, Nadal is looking at a Roland Garros–final rematch with Dominic Thiem, who defeated Guido Pella in his quarter, 7-5, 6-2.