Argentina’s Francisco Cerúndolo gave Latin America its biggest moment of the day at the Miami Open yesterday producing one of the tournament’s best wins so far with a 6-0, 4-6, 7-5 upset of former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev to reach the fourth round. The Argentine, seeded 18th, again showed why Miami has become one of his most comfortable stops on tour, advancing to the round of 16 there for the fourth time in five appearances.
For regional audiences following the event from Costa Rica and across Latin America, Cerúndolo’s win stood out as the clearest Latin American storyline of the day. On a Monday packed with fourth-round women’s matches and men’s third-round contests, he was the player from the region who delivered the breakthrough result. He overwhelmed Medvedev in the opening set, then regrouped after dropping the second before closing out the match in three sets.
The victory was significant beyond the bracket. Medvedev had arrived in Miami in strong form, and Cerúndolo’s win was a stunning upset that halted the Russian’s push for another deep run in South Florida. Cerúndolo’s forehand once again proved decisive on the Miami hard courts, where he has built a reputation as a dangerous floater capable of knocking out seeded players.
Cerúndolo’s reward is a round-of-16 meeting with France’s Ugo Humbert, who defeated Alexander Shevchenko 6-4, 7-6(2). That sets up another opportunity for the Argentine to keep a Latin American presence alive in the second week of the tournament.
Elsewhere on the men’s side, Jannik Sinner continued his march through the draw with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Corentin Moutet, while Alexander Zverev beat Marin Cilic 6-2, 5-7, 6-4. Frances Tiafoe also survived one of the day’s tightest matches, saving two match points before edging defending champion Jakub Mensik 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(11).
On the women’s side, the Latin connection was less about a win than about the end of a remarkable outsider run. Alexandra Eala, the Filipina teenager who had become one of the tournament’s surprise stories, was overpowered by Karolina Muchova 6-0, 6-2 in just one hour. While Eala is not from Latin America, her underdog run had drawn broad attention among international tennis audiences looking for new faces outside the sport’s usual power centers.
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka also advanced, beating Zheng Qinwen to improve to 8-1 in their head-to-head series and move into the quarterfinals, where she will face Hailey Baptiste. Coco Gauff reached her first Miami Open quarterfinal by defeating Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, and Belinda Bencic joined her in the last eight after a 6-2, 6-2 win over Amanda Anisimova. Victoria Mboko completed the quarterfinal lineup with a three-set win over Mirra Andreeva.
Still, from a Tico Times perspective, Monday belonged to Cerúndolo. In a tournament that has already produced weather delays, early upsets, and a shifting draw, the Argentine delivered the kind of performance that keeps Latin American interest firmly in the mix. Miami often feels closer to the region than most events on the tennis calendar, and Cerúndolo’s run is giving Spanish-speaking fans one more reason to stay locked in as the tournament moves deeper into its second week.
