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

Carlos Alcaraz has now lost both Sunshine Doubles tournaments without reaching the final.

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

Francisco Cerundolo beat Daniil Medvedev, while Sebastian Korda beat Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/Quindici Zero, Carlos Alcaraz 4K, Tennis.com, Miami Open)

In Short
  • Francisco Cerundolo defeated Daniil Medvedev in the third round of the Miami Open, marking Medvedev's first early exit since the Qatar Open.
  • Cerundolo credited Sebastian Korda's victory over Carlos Alcaraz as inspiration for his own upset win.
  • Jannik Sinner aims to close the rankings gap with Alcaraz following the latter's exit from the tournament.

Francisco Cerundolo was the reason why Daniil Medvedev couldn’t make a deep run in the ongoing Miami Open. In the third round, the Russian ace suffered a 6-0, 4-6, 7-5 defeat, and it marked the first time since this year’s Qatar Open that Medvedev exited a tournament without reaching the final.

Before Medvedev’s exit, the tournament also saw the defeat of Carlos Alcaraz at the hands of home favorite Sebastian Korda in the third round. Cerundolo, at the press conference after the match, said Korda’s victory over the World No.1 inspired him to register his first top 10 win of the season.

I kept believing and stayed in the match. I remember Sebastian Korda playing yesterday; it was similar. One set and one break for Korda. Then the third set. I tried to stay in it and kept believing. The third set was very good from both of us. In the end, the victory was mine.

Korda will next be facing Martin Landaluce, while Cerundolo’s fourth-round opponent is Ugo Humbert. Prior to arriving in Miami, Medvedev played the finals of the Dubai Tennis Championships and Indian Wells, winning the former after receiving a walkover from Tallon Griekspoor. World No.2 Jannik Sinner denied him his first win in the California desert, where he also finished as a runner-up in 2023 and 2024, losing both times to Alcaraz.

But he took his revenge on Alcaraz, breaking his 16-match winning streak in the Indian Wells semifinal. Medvedev, apart from the Dubai title, also clinched the Brisbane International by defeating Brandon Nakashima.

Greg Rusedski on Joao Fonseca’s match against Carlos Alcaraz

Joao Fonseca, in his second appearance at the Miami Open, lost to Alcaraz in the second round. The Brazilian ace also met Sinner in the fourth round of this year’s Indian Wells. Although Fonseca was able to force two tiebreaks against Sinner, Alcaraz easily knocked him out.

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Joao Fonseca
Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Joao Fonseca (Image via X/Carlos Alcaraz 4K, Jannik Sinner HQ, Ivan Aguilar)

Following Fonseca’s exit, Greg Rusedski gave his take on his match against the seven-time Grand Slam champion, saying the 19-year-old needs to learn a lot to challenge the dominance of Sincaraz.

Fonseca said one thing that was really interesting. It’s easier to play Jannik Sinner than it is to play Carlos Alcaraz. So Alcaraz has those few extra dimensions with the drop shot, change of height, coming forward, and transition. And I wish Fonseca had got off to a better start, because once you give Carlos the lead, he runs away with it. There were no lapses. As we saw, great crowds for that match. This will be a rivalry, but Fonseca is a year away from joining that party of three because he’s still learning how to adjust those things. We saw a lot of promise in Indian Wells, but he is the real deal.

Greg Rusedski said on the Off Court with Greg podcast

Sinner has the chance to close the rankings gap with Alcaraz now that the first seed is no longer a part of the ongoing event. The Italian ace breezed past Corentin Moutet to schedule his fourth round match against Alex Michelsen.

Sinner is bidding to complete the Sunshine Doubles. The Indian Wells title was his first victory in a tournament this season, as Novak Djokovic beat him in the Australian Open semifinal and later Jakub Mensik eliminated him in the Qatar Open quarterfinals.

After the Miami Open, the tennis world will shift its focus to the clay swing, where Alcaraz will have a lot of points to defend, given that he won the Monte Carlo Masters, Italian Open, and the French Open last year. In the latter two events, the 22-year-old defeated Sinner.

Also read: Elena Rybakina Opens Up on Rivarly with Aryna Sabalenka: “It has been close”