Scouting Report
Scouting Report: Alcaraz eyes bounceback in Miami, Sinner chases ‘Sunshine Double’

An executive summary of what every fan should know about the ATP Masters 1000 event

March 16, 2026

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev will lead the field in Miami.

ATP Tour

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev will lead the field in Miami.
By Andy West

The second leg of the prestigious ‘Sunshine Double’ kicks off Wednesday at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

Carlos Alcaraz, the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, and Jannik Sinner, last week’s BNP Paribas Open champion, headline the field at the ATP Masters 1000 event. Main-draw play runs from 18-29 March at Hard Rock Stadium, home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins.

ATPTour.com looks at 10 things to watch during the season’s second Masters 1000 tournament. 

1) Alcaraz eyes fast response: Daniil Medvedev ended World No. 1 Alcaraz’s unbeaten start to 2026 in the Indian Wells semi-finals. The Spaniard will hope to get back on track quickly in Miami, where he won his maiden Masters 1000 title in 2022. Alcaraz is 16-1 for the year according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

2) Sinner seeks Sunshine Double: Only seven men have completed the coveted ‘Sunshine Double’ of winning Indian Wells and Miami in the same year, and no one has achieved the feat since Roger Federer in 2017. In 2026, it is Jannik Sinner who has the chance to add to that list after he marched to the BNP Paribas Open title without dropping a set. The World No. 2 triumphed in Miami on his most recent appearance there in 2024.

3) Resurgent Medvedev: Daniil Medvedev produced some of his best tennis across his title run last month in Dubai and subsequent championship-match showing in Indian Wells. The former World No. 1 has returned to the Top 10 for the first time since last July and will hope to build on his recent performances, including his Indian Wells semi-final victory against Alcaraz. Medvedev previously lifted the Miami trophy in 2023.

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4) Zverev eyes first trophy of year: After reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open and the BNP Paribas Open, Alexander Zverev will hope to break his title duck for 2026 in Miami. The German has good pedigree on the hard courts of South Florida: He holds a 19-10 record there overall, a tally that includes a run to the final in 2018.

5) Fritz & Shelton Lead Home Charge: Only one American (John Isner in 2018) has lifted the men’s singles title in Miami in the past 15 years. In 2026, World No. 7 Taylor Fritz and No. 9 Ben Shelton will lead the charge for a home champion at Hard Rock Stadium, while former Top 10 stars Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul are among the others aiming to channel home support.

6) Top 10 threats: Three Top 10 stars will be chasing their maiden Master 1000 crown in Miami. World No. 5 Lorenzo Musetti reached the fourth round in Florida in 2024 and 2025, losing to Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, respectively. No. 6 Alex de Minaur has also never been past the Round of 16 at Hard Rock Stadium, while No. 8 Felix Auger-Aliassime was a semi-finalist in 2018.

7) Defending titlist Mensik: Jakub Mensik stunned Djokovic to earn his maiden ATP Tour trophy in Miami a year ago. The 20-year-old Czech returns in 2026 as the No. 13 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, having lifted his second tour-level title in Auckland in early January. Alongside Alcaraz, Sinner, Medvedev and Mensik, the other former champion in the field is 2021 winner Hubert Hurkacz.

8) Tien, Fonseca eye big impact: Both making their Miami main-draw debut in 2025, Learner Tien and Joao Fonseca faced off in an intriguing first-round clash at Hard Rock Stadium, where Fonseca prevailed in three sets. Tien, now at a career-high World No. 21 after reaching the quarter-finals in Indian Wells, will have high hopes of notching a first Miami win this year. Meanwhile Fonseca will hope to channel more of the raucous crowd energy from his third-round run a year ago.

9) #NextGenATP Wild Cards: At least three more of Fonseca’s fellow 20-and-under stars will join the Brazilian in the main draw in Miami. Frenchman Moise Kouame, who only turned 17 on 6 March, is set to make his Masters 1000 debut as a wild card. The 19-year-old Rei Sakamoto will also compete as a wild card, as will 18-year-old home favourite Darwin Blanch.

10) Arevalo/Pavic Defend Crown: After an opening-round Indian Wells defeat to Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas, defending Miami champions Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic will step out at Hard Rock Stadium in search of an immediate response. The Salvadoran-Croatian duo’s rivals in the draw are scheduled to include top seeds Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos and 2025 finalists Julian Cash/Lloyd Glasspool.

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