Video: Wawrinka’s Dangerous Forehand Nearly Decapitates Nadal

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Video: Wawrinka’s Dangerous Forehand Nearly Decapitates Nadal

In case you haven’t heard: Stan Wawrinka was in fantastic form on Friday during his quarterfinal with Rafael Nadal. Though the big, burly Swiss has been in a figurative hibernation since the last time he won back-to-back matches in February, he was pretty much invincible on Friday versus the king of clay.

More: Wawrinka Ends Nadal's Roman Holiday with Command Performance

The point above is just one of many that Wawrinka was able to win thanks to his net prowess and attacking mindset. Even as Nadal did everything in his power to chase down Wawrinka’s wickedly angled dropshot, Wawrinka still recovered and tracked down Nadal’s reply, sprinting to the baseline to get into position then whirling before absolutely drilling a forehand right at Nadal’s coconut.

There was no malice on Wawrinka’s part. He simply knew that Nadal would be hauling off to cover the center of the net and if he hit his forehand with enough mustard he would successfully wrong-foot Nadal, leaving him no play on the ball.

Like so many of Wawrinka’s aggressive plays during his 7-6(7), 6-2 victory, it worked.

The Swiss No. 2 will next face the Swiss No. 1, Roger Federer in one of Saturday’s Rome semifinals. Just like that, with one command performance, Wawrinka has gone from off the radar to being one of the five or six players that appears to be in good enough form to win the French Open.

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