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Korda takes 'scenic route' to shock world No. 1 in Miami
Rory Carroll • March 23rd, 2026 1:44 pm
Sebastian Korda has celebrated the biggest win of his career in front of home fans in Florida | Photo: EPA
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz has been stunned by Sebastian Korda 6-3 5-7 6-4 in the third round of the Miami Open, giving the American the biggest win of his career.
It appeared Korda had blown his chance to beat the Spaniard on Sunday when he failed to serve out the match in the second set, but he maintained composure, breaking for 4-3 in the third and claiming the victory with an unreturnable serve on match point.
"It feels great. I took the scenic route, that's for sure," world No. 36 Korda said during 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 smacked one of his 12 aces to capture the first set and was on the doorstep of victory when serving for the match in the second with a 5-3 lead, but was broken at love.
The momentum appeared to swing decidedly in Alcaraz's favour from there and he levelled the match at a set apiece.
But the 25-year-old from Florida refused to back down, going up a break in the decider when Alcaraz's forehand went wide, consolidating the break for a 5-3 lead with an overhead and sealing the win on his second match point opportunity for a first win ever over a top-ranked player.
Alcaraz began the year by winning his seventh major title and completing the career Grand Slam with a triumph at the Australian Open. He did not suffer his first loss of the season until he fell to Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals at Indian Wells and is now 17-2 on the year.
Carlos Alcaraz has suffered just his second defeat of 2026 | Photo: EPA
Alcaraz, who won the Miami Open in 2022 when he was 18 years old, also exited the tournament early last year when he fell to unseeded Belgian David Goffin in the second round.
As he did in 2025, Alcaraz will now have extra time to prepare for the claycourt season, which begins with next month's Monte Carlo Masters.
Korda, seeded 32nd, will next play either Karen Khachanov or Martin Landaluce in the round of 16.
Americans Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul joined Korda in the fourth round. The sixth-seeded Fritz beat Reilly Opelka 6-3 6-4 and No. 22 seed Paul eliminated Raphael Collignon 6-2 3-6 7-6 (7-5).
