Carlos Alcaraz has suffered a shock defeat at the Miami Masters to American world No.36 Sebastian Korda.
The top seed was outplayed throughout his roller-coaster 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 loss to Korda, who has claimed his first win over a world No.1 player at the age of 25. Alcaraz entered that match having won 16 out of his last 17 matches played this season and boasted a 4-1 head-to-head lead against Korda. However, he was outgunned by his opponent, who failed to serve the match out in the second set before prevailing in the decider.
“I took the scenic route today. I just wanted a little bit more court time,” Korda joked during an interview with Sky Sports.
“Carlos…… he does amazing things. He gets himself out of situations that no one else does. I knew that coming in.”
Korda, who has been ranked as high as 15th in the world, was the better player throughout the first half of the match as he roared to an unexpected set and 5-3 lead. Then, a twist unfolded with the American producing three backhand errors to get broken before losing three consecutive games. Alcaraz had all the momentum heading into the third frame, but Korda pounced to break midway through, which gave him enough of a margin to seal victory.
“I didn’t want to play that bad of a game on 5-4 (in the second set), but credit to him (Alcaraz),” he commented.
“He applies the pressure when he needs to and gets things done. I stayed with it. I tried to be a little bit more aggressive on the three-all service game (in the decider). I found some great balls, and I took it and won with it.”
It is the second year in a row that Alcaraz has suffered an early exit in Miami, which he won in 2022. Last year, he was beaten in the second round by David Goffin. It is the first tournament he has failed to win consecutive matches at since the Paris Masters last November.
As for Korda, he produced 33 winners and broke the top seed three times to secure his 10th win over a top 10 player and his first in 12 months.
“That’s what I’ve been going with today, is belief.” He said in reference to a Bible verse that he has been reading.
“That’s all I can do. All I can take care of is how much I believe. I can only take care of my side of the net, whether I’m playing really good or really bad. I was going to stay there at every point. I was going to battle and just try to figure it out.”
Korda is the first American man to beat a world No.1 player at the Miami Open since Andy Roddick, who upset Roger Federer in 2008. He will play either Karen Khachanov or Martín Landaluce in the next round.
