Sebastian Korda upsets Carlos Alcaraz after taking a ‘good route’ in Miami | ATP Tour
Miami
Korda upsets Alcaraz after taking the ‘good route’ in Miami
America wins the first game against World No
March 22, 2026
Rich Story/Getty Images
Sebastian Korda defeated World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in three sets on Sunday in Miami.
Written by Jerome Coombe
Sebastian Korda would not be denied a second time on Sunday at the Miami Open presented by Itau, where he finally pulled off a stunning upset of World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz to reach the fourth round.
After failing to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set and dropping five games in a row during Alcaraz’s resurgence, Korda made a remarkable comeback to win 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in two hours, 19 minutes.
Competing as the No. 36 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, Korda is the lowest ranked man to beat Alcaraz since World No. 55 David Goffin upset the Spaniard in the second round in Miami last year. After a perfect 16-0 start to 2026, Alcaraz has now lost two of his last three matches, including his semi-final loss to Daniil Medvedev in Indian Wells.
The biggest win of his career 🥶@SebiKoda impressing World No. 1 Alcaraz in incredible fashion and we’re through to the fourth round on home soil!@MiamiOpen | #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/i3f3BUSzN3
– ATP Tour (@atptour) March 22, 2026
“I took the scenic route, that’s for sure,” Korda said. “There was less stress than I would have liked, but I’m happy with the way I played, I’m happy with the way I stayed with it. I kept believing. I found myself in bad situations, but I kept going and played well in the end.”
Korda will now bid to match his best result in Miami, where he reached the quarter-finals in 2021 and 2025. To do so, he must defeat 14th seed Karen Khachanov or 20-year-old player Martin Landaluce in the fourth round.
After missing two-and-a-half months last year with a right shin stress fracture and slipping to No. 86 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Korda has shown just how dangerous he can be when fully fit. The former world number 15 and three-time ATP Tour champion cruised through the opening set, landing 75 percent of his forehands and hitting five aces.
Alcaraz was sometimes left with no answers, but the Spaniard mounted a thrilling comeback late in the second set. Despite producing a confident streak, Korda hit three unforced errors on his way down to love while trying to close out the match at 5-4.
It was part of a five-game streak from Alcaraz to force the designated hitter, but Korda was again surprisingly calm, regaining his clean hitting and tactical clarity to close out the game. With the win, he improved to 2-4 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against Alcaraz.
With his victory, Korda became the sixth American man to win the World No. 1 since 2015. He recently hired former Top 40 player Ryan Harrison as part of his coaching program.
“It was a lot of soul searching,” Korda said. “I’ve been through a lot. I’ve played a lot of top players but I couldn’t always do it. I felt when I played these top players, I was blowing the ball and trying to do too much. I sat down with Ryan, and our goal today was to play average, not try to do too much with it.”
Alcaraz leaves Miami with a 17-2 record this season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. The 22-year-old became the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January and followed it up with an ATP 500 title in Doha.
