Daniil Medvedev Reveals The Tougher Achievement Between Winning a Grand Slam and a Sunshine Double

Daniil Medvedev has admitted that the Sunshine Doubles is harder to win than a Grand Slam. The Russian star made those comments after Francisco Cerundolo defeated him in the third round of the Miami Open. The last men’s player to win the Sunshine Doubles (Indian Wells and Miami Open) was Roger Federer in 2017.

Medvedev has been one of the best players on tour this year. He is back in the top 10 after months away. His comeback to the top 10 was due to his performance on the court this season. He has won two tournaments this year, including the Brisbane International in January.

He reached the final of the Indian Wells, but failed to win the title after losing to Jannik Sinner in straight sets. The former World No.1 defeated Carlos Alcaraz en route to the final of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament, ending his 16-match winning streak. In Miami, he continued his form, winning his opening match before facing Cerundolo in the third.

Cerundolo began the match more aggressively than expected and handsomely earned a 6-0 win in the opening set. In the second set, Cerundolo looked like running away with the win when he broke the Russian star early and raced on to a 3-1 lead. But Medvedev found his gear and pushed the tie to a deciding set.

In the decider, Cerundolo needed luck and a bit of misfortune from Medvedev, who was playing far better than the Argentine star. Cerundolo won the match 6-0, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the fourth round of the tournament.

After the match, Medvedev was asked whether winning the Sunshine Doubles was more difficult than winning a Grand Slam. The former US Open champion admitted that winning the Indian Wells and Miami is the hardest accomplishment in professional tennis:

Probably sunshine double is tougher, because a Grand Slam is just one tournament, but sunshine double is winning 2 in a row.

Sinner is on track to win the Sunshine Doubles. He won the Indian Wells, and he’s into the fourth round of the Miami Open, where he will face Alex Michelsen. Alcaraz cannot be able to achieve that this year as he has crashed out of the Miami Open following his loss to Sebastian Korda in the third round.

Francisco Cerundolo confident after his win against Daniil Medvedev at the Miami Open

The tie between Francisco Cerundolo and Daniil Medvedev had an unusual incident in the third set when umpire Mohamed Lahyani almost got entangled with the spidercam, the camera that flies over the court during matches. The camera cable got caught on the umpire’s chair, causing the structure to move to the umpire, who was forced to step down from his seat.

But when play resumed, Cerundolo continued his brilliant game plan, slowing the game to Medvedev’s liking. After the win, he expressed that he’s full of confidence at the Miami Open and has felt that way since arriving at the tournament following his poor campaign at the Indian Wells Open:

I felt good in my first-round match here, and now I feel way better. I’m recovering that confidence. The level was there, I was just trying to find it. But now, (I am in) the round of 16, so hopefully I can keep it up.I didn’t know what to expect… It was a great match, super tough. It was my first match against Daniil. He’s probably one of the only guys on Tour who I have never played.

Cerundolo’s best run at the Miami Open came in 2022 when he reached the semi-finals. Since then, he managed to reach the quarter-finals in 2023 and 2025. He will face Ugo Humbert for a place in the fourth round after securing his first top 10 win of the season against Medvedev.

Also Read: Sebastian Korda’s Carlos Alcaraz Win Inspired Francisco Cerundolo to Upset Daniil Medvedev in Miami

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