Korda stuns World No. 1 Alcaraz at Miami Open

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

American netter Sebastian Korda caught a big fish in the ongoing Miami Open after stunning World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, on March 23, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

With the shocking upset, the 25-year-old American formalized his entry in the tournament’s Round of 16 and improved his head-to-head record against Alcaraz to 2-4.

Korda was fresh off a sweeping opening-round victory over Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli, and he made sure to sustain his momentum against the heavy favorite to win this year’s Miami Open.

Without any antics or new tricks up his sleeves, Korda played an efficient display of tennis to steal the first set from Alcaraz, bolstered by a serving masterclass and a lesson on how to save crucial break points to stay within the match.

Alcaraz had back-to-back chances to jump in the driver’s seat, but the resilient Korda saved two crucial break points to turn things around, en route to a 6-3 first-set win.

A slight momentum shift took place in the second set when Korda was near staging a two-set sweep after mounting a 5-4 lead, but Alcaraz stole the show with a love break, followed by two consecutive set points to equalize the thriller at one set apiece.

Deadlocked at 3-all in the third set, Korda found the light at the end of the tunnel after breaking Alcaraz’s serve for a 4-3 lead and never looked back.

Korda then officially booted out Alcaraz after tallying his second match point when the Spaniard’s return on his serve was called long by the baseline linesman.

After two hours and 19 minutes, Korda wrapped up the Round of 32 showdown with 101 total points won, including 36 on the return and 12 aces.

The World No. 1 had 97 total points won but struggled with his serve after committing two double faults on just 67 percent on his first-service possessions.

“Well, I mean, like the ball speed, not the way how I played, for sure. I was as aggressive as possible,” Korda said after the win.

“He’s unbelievable in every aspect of his game. The movement, volleys, forehand, backhand, there’s nothing he can’t do. So, yeah, I definitely needed to do, I needed to be aggressive. I needed to take the ball out of his hand and take the point in my favor.”