Carlos Alcaraz’s Miami Open campaign came to a halt in the third round Sunday, as Sebastian Korda outlasted the world No. 1 in a gripping three-set battle.
The 22-year-old Spaniard, fresh off completing a career Grand Slam with his Australian Open triumph in January, slipped to 17-2 on the season.
The defeat follows his semifinal exit to Daniil Medvedev at Indian Wells last week, marking a rare dip in form for the tour’s top-ranked player.
Korda looked poised to finish the job in straight sets when he served for the match at 5-4 in the second, only for Alcaraz to surge back with five straight games and force a decider.
The 25-year-old American, however, steadied himself in the third, sealing a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 victory in two hours, 19 minutes.
"It was a tough match,” Alcaraz said. "He was incredible today, played at a really high level. There were key moments I didn’t take, and he handled those situations better.”
Ranked No. 36, Korda became the lowest-ranked player to defeat Alcaraz since David Goffin, then No. 55, pulled off a similar upset at the same tournament last year, according to the ATP Tour.
"A lot of tense moments, for sure,” Korda said. "But I think today the ultimate thing was belief, going back to just believing, committing to every shot, and luckily I got it done at the end.”
Next up for Korda is qualifier Martin Landaluce, who advanced with a 6-3, 7-6 (2) win against 14th-seeded Karen Khachanov.
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 with a 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (5) victory.
No. 21 Jiri Lehecka, No. 24 Valentin Vacherot and No. 29 Tomas Martin Etcheverry also were among the winners.
On the women’s side, top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka cruised to a 6-4, 6-2 win against Catherine McNally. No. 3 Elena Rybakina beat No. 27 Marta Kostyuk 6-3, 6-4, and No. 5 Jessica Pegula posted a 6-2, 6-2 win over No. 26 Leylah Fernandez.
No. 7 Jasmine Paolini, No. 9 Elina Svitolina, No. 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova, No. 15 Madison Keys and No. 18 Iva Jovic were eliminated. Paolini lost to No. 25 Jelena Ostapenko in three sets, and Svitolina was knocked out by Hailey Baptiste in straight sets.