Miami Gardens, FL, USA : World number one Carlos Alcaraz crashed out of the Miami Open in the third round on Sunday after a 6-3 5-7 6-4 defeat by American Sebastian Korda, who claimed the biggest win of his career.
Korda looked on course for a straight-sets victory when he led 5-3 in the second set and served for the match, only for Alcaraz to break back at love and force a decider.
But the 25-year-old American regained his composure in the third set, breaking for a 4-3 lead when Alcaraz sent a forehand wide before closing out the win with an unreturnable serve on his second match point.
“It feels great. I took the scenic route, that’s for sure,” Korda said in his on-court interview.
“It was a little more stress than I would want but I’m happy with how I played, happy with how I stayed with it. I got myself into some nasty situations and I kept going, kept believing and I played really well at the end.”
Korda fired 12 aces and mixed up his game effectively, using serve-and-volley tactics to secure his first victory over a world number one.
Alcaraz, who won the Australian Open earlier this year to complete the career Grand Slam, slipped to just his second defeat of the season and now holds a 17-2 record in 2026.
The Spaniard won the Miami title in 2022 but has now suffered early exits in successive years after losing to Belgium’s David Goffin in the second round in 2025.
Korda, the 32nd seed, will face either Karen Khachanov or Martin Landaluce in the last 16.
Alcaraz will now turn his attention to the clay-court swing, which begins next month with the Monte Carlo Masters.
