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Instant Replay: Nadal's banana shot and more Miami Open highlights

Welcome to Instant Replay, a recap of the best highlights, GIFs and photos as we move into the business end of this week's tournaments. 

Courtney Nguyen

Instant Replay: Nadal's banana shot and more Miami Open highlights
Instant Replay: Nadal's banana shot and more Miami Open highlights /

Welcome to Instant Replay, a recap of the best highlights, GIFs and photos as we move into the business end of this week's tournaments. 

Serena Williams had never played Monica Niculescu before this month. She's now played her twice in two weeks. I'm guessing Serena would be perfectly happy to never face her again. Check out this effort to win a point during their second round match in Miami:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylxIlqxTpA8]

Nicolas Almagro has never shied away from hitting at players at the net. He tried to go through Rafael Nadal three times and failed. (Psst—the line was open, Nico.)

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ods1EAtHaM]

Novak Djokovic: Good at tennis.

Currently in the running for GIF of the year: Maria Sharapova shoots a look down to the other side of the court after Daria Gavrilova won a Hawk-Eye challenge.

[tweet=https://twitter.com/roobynVC/status/581260894786711552]

It's great to have you back on tour, Gael Monfils: 

Agnieszka Radwanska is stuck in a slump. But even in her fourth round loss to Carla Suarez Navarro, she showed she's got a few tricks up her sleeve:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw_dbE5Z-1I]

Simona Halep shows why she's the No. 1 player in the WTA Road to Singapore rankings in this point against Sloane Stephens in the quarterfinals. Great defense and tactics, finished off with a perfect forehand winner. 

[youtube=​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNijhTt67Ts]

Fernando Verdasco has now won his last two matches against Rafael Nadal. Check out Verdasco's quickness here in his 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 over Nadal in Miami:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO7wv4o4LHo]

Banana sighting:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5ibvB9aGw0]

Stan Wawrinka showed some class by overruling the umpire to replay a point against Adrian Mannarino after he disagreed with the umpire's call:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNZjdASYW1w&feature=youtu.be]

Monfils took a nasty fall against Tomas Berdych and had to retire:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lIyrv2KDUo]

Juan Monaco hit an insane volley against Guillermo Garcia Lopez:

Things got heated on court between Thomaz Bellucci and Pablo Cuevas. Bellucci took a hard fall late in the first set and seemed to be on the verge of retiring, only to go on a run of games in the second set. Cuevas took offense: 

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga played his first tournament of the season in Miami. He's still shaking off some rust: 

The best women's match of the tournament so far has to be Sloane Stephens' 6-4, 7-6 win over Belinda Bencic in the fourth round. Check out this rally:

Berdych with a solid shank off his serve:

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Martin Klizan flashed the crowd during a changeover:

Ana Ivanovic reviews her current level of play:

Marija Cicak admonishes the rowdy Miami crowd. Note: Mary Carillo calls her "Cheech." 

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Courtney Nguyen
COURTNEY NGUYEN

Contributor, SI.com Nguyen is a freelance writer for SI.com, providing full coverage of professional tennis both on and off the court. Her content has become a must-read for fans and insiders to stay up-to-date with a sport that rarely rests. She has appeared on radio and TV talk shows all over the world and is one of the co-hosts of No Challenges Remaining, a weekly podcast available on iTunes. Nguyen graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 1999 and received a law degree from the University of California, Davis in 2002. She lives in the Bay Area.

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