World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz crashed out of the Miami Open after a stunning third-round defeat to Sebastian Korda, who claimed the biggest win of his career with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 victory on Sunday.
Korda dominated the early exchanges, taking the first set with authority and putting constant pressure on Alcaraz with his aggressive baseline play and powerful serve. The American appeared on course for a straight-sets win when he served for the match at 5-3 in the second set, but a lapse allowed Alcaraz to break at love and force a decider.
Any momentum shift proved temporary. Showing composure beyond his years, Korda regrouped in the third set, breaking Alcaraz to go 4-3 ahead before holding serve confidently to close out the match on his second match point with an unreturnable delivery.
“It feels great. I took the scenic route, that’s for sure,” Korda said after the match. “It was a little more stress than I would want, but I’m happy with how I played and how I stayed with it.”
The 25-year-old was clinical for large parts of the contest, firing 12 aces and mixing up his tactics effectively, including well-timed ventures to the net. Even after letting the second set slip, he maintained belief and composure to register his first-ever victory over a world No. 1.
Alcaraz, by contrast, looked unusually erratic at key moments, particularly off his forehand side, which proved costly in the deciding set.
The Spaniard had arrived in Miami in strong form, having already secured his seventh Grand Slam title earlier this season with triumph at the Australian Open, completing a career Grand Slam. His only defeat prior to this match had come against Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals at Indian Wells.
A former Miami Open champion — winning the title in 2022 as an 18-year-old — Alcaraz has now suffered back-to-back early exits at the tournament, having also fallen in the second round last year.
With his Miami campaign cut short, Alcaraz will now turn his attention to the clay-court season, beginning with the Monte-Carlo Masters.
Korda, seeded 32nd, advances to the round of 16, where he will face either Karen Khachanov or Martin Landaluce as he looks to build on a landmark victory.
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