Video - Cuevas' memorable winning shot against Nadal at Paris-Bercy in 2017

In the third round of the 2017 Paris-Bercy Masters 1000, Rafael Nadal, the number 1 seed, faced Pablo Cuevas. The Uruguayan had eliminated Karen Khachanov (6-4, 6-2) and then Albert Ramos-Viñolas (6-7, 7-6, 6-2) to earn a prestigious round of 16 match against the Spaniard, who was back at an excellent level and had won Roland-Garros and the US Open while also having reached the final of the Australian Open that season.

With the absences of Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Roger Federer, Nadal was the big favorite for the Bercy tournament and hoped to win his first title at Paris-Bercy.

Exempt from the first round, the Mallorcan had started with a win against Chung Hyeon (7-5, 6-3) and thus met Cuevas, who was always capable of producing moments of genius on a tennis court.

On the occasion of this round of 16 match, Cuevas decided to enjoy himself. While the match had barely started 15 minutes earlier, the Uruguayan was already in hot form, and he improvised a memorable winning shot.

At the net, Nadal certainly wasn't expecting a between-the-legs shot that earned him an ovation from the spectators on the Central Court of the Bercy arena (see video below).

After a close match, Nadal ultimately managed to win (6-3, 6-7, 6-3) but withdrew before his quarter-final against Filip Krajinovic. As for Cuevas, a former world number 19, he played the last match of his career in the first round of the 2024 US Open qualifiers against Luca Van Assche at the age of 38 and then became Francisco Cerundolo's coach at the start of the season.