Video: Watch Rafael Nadal's stunning lob against Stan Wawrinka

Rafael Nadal is ecstatic after beating Stan Wawrinka on Monday

14-time Grand Slam champion and current World No. 5 Rafael Nadal started the last premier event of the year in style and invalidated all the doubts surrounding him. It's only recently that the critics of the Spaniard had written him off after a series of disappointing performances, but it may have been all too soon, as he brilliantly displayed why he is considered one of the most dangerous adversaries to have ever stepped on a tennis court.

Nadal was playing Stan Wawrinka in the first round and was dominating the proceedings, winning the first set 6-3. In the second set, he was 1-0 down and the next game at 30-40 was going in Wawrinka’s favour.

The moment of brilliance came on the next point when everyone inside the stadium including Wawrinka thought that the Swiss’ 12th shot was enough to seal the game, but Nadal came up with this extraordinary lob shot in return that went above the World No. 4’s head diagonally and hit the end of the line to bring the score to deuce. Nadal showed in that moment what champions are made of.

The nine-time French Open champion went on to clinch an impressive win over the Swiss. He won the game in straight sets with a 6-3, 6-2 score in his round-robin opener. Nadal’s next match is on 18th November against Andy Murry. A clash definitely not worth missing!

The ‘King of Clay’ beamed with confidence in his post-match interview to the ATP official website. “I think I played a solid match,” said Nadal, who made only 12 unforced errors in the match. “I had one bad game, the first one of the match. But then immediately I was playing well. I played the way that I wanted to play. I played aggressively. I played with not many mistakes.”

Savour the moment of magic displayed by the ace player in this video: