Alcaraz Knocked Out by Sebastian Korda in Miami Clash

Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz suffered a surprising exit from the Miami Open on Sunday, falling to Sebastian Korda in a three-set battle that lasted 2 hours and 19 minutes.

The 22-year-old Spaniard, fresh off his Australian Open victory that completed his career Grand Slam, dropped to a 17-2 record for the season. Alcaraz had also lost to Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells semifinals last weekend, continuing a recent streak of tough losses.

The match was tightly contested. Korda, ranked No. 36, had a chance to serve for victory at 5-4 in the second set, but Alcaraz fought back to win five games in a row, taking the set 7-5. Korda regrouped in the deciding set, eventually sealing a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 win.

“It was a very challenging match,” Alcaraz said. “Sebastian played brilliantly, and he managed the key points better than I did today.”

Korda praised his mindset as the key to his victory. “There were definitely tense moments, but believing in myself and committing to every shot made the difference,” he said. His win makes him the lowest-ranked player to defeat Alcaraz in Miami since David Goffin, who was ranked No. 55 last year.

Looking ahead, Korda will face the winner of the match between 14th-seeded Karen Khachanov and qualifier Martin Landaluce.

Americans Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul also advanced to the fourth round. Fritz, seeded sixth, beat Reilly Opelka 6-3, 6-4, while Paul, No. 22 seed, overcame Raphael Collignon 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (5). Other men’s winners included Jiri Lehecka (No. 21) and Tomas Martin Etcheverry (No. 29).

On the women’s side, Elena Rybakina (No. 3) defeated Marta Kostyuk 6-3, 6-4, and Jessica Pegula (No. 5) prevailed 6-2, 6-2 over Leylah Fernandez (No. 26). Upsets included Jasmine Paolini (No. 7), Elina Svitolina (No. 9), Ekaterina Alexandrova (No. 11), and Iva Jovic (No. 18), with Paolini falling to Jelena Ostapenko in three sets and Svitolina losing in straight sets to Hailey Baptiste.