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American Sebastian Korda registered a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 triumph over Carlos Alcaraz to condemn the Spaniard to an early exit.
Sebastian Korda. (X)
World number one Carlos Alcaraz crashed out of the third round of the Miami Open on Sunday, beaten 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 by 36th-ranked American Sebastian Korda.
Korda earned his first victory over a world number one, consigning Alcaraz to a second straight early exit in Miami. Alcaraz lifted the trophy there in 2022 but lost his second-round opener to 55th-ranked Belgian David Goffin last year.
It appeared Korda had squandered his opportunity when he served for the match at 5-4 in the second set and was broken to love.
Alcaraz won the next two games to force a deciding set. The Spaniard raised his intensity, but Korda held firm, and it was the American who secured a crucial break for 4-3 in the third when Alcaraz sent a forehand wide.
Korda then held his next service game confidently, finishing with an overhead winner on game point. After Alcaraz held serve to make Korda serve for the match again, the American made no mistake, sealing victory on his second match point as Alcaraz sent a service return long.
“It feels great,” said Korda, who has been ranked as high as 15th in the world but has endured two seasons disrupted by injury.
“I took the scenic route, that’s for sure — a little more stress than I would want but happy with how I played, happy with how I stayed with it.
“He’s unbelievable in every aspect of his game, movement, volleys, forehand, backhand, there’s nothing he can’t do,” Korda said of Alcaraz, who won the Australian Open in January to become the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam.
The 22-year-old Spaniard followed that triumph with a title in Doha and had extended his unbeaten 2026 record to 16-0 before losing in the semi-finals at Indian Wells this month.
Korda will face either Spanish qualifier Martin Landaluce or 14th-seeded Karen Khachanov for a place in the quarter-finals.
(With Inputs From Agencies)
United States of America (USA)
March 23, 2026, 2:10 PM IST
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