Miami
Korda upsets Alcaraz after taking ‘scenic route’ in Miami

American wins in first match against a World No. 1

March 22, 2026

Rich Storry/Getty Images

Sebastian Korda beats World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in three sets on Sunday in Miami.
By Jerome Coombe

Sebastian Korda would not be denied a second time on Sunday at the Miami Open presented by Itau, where he ultimately secured 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 consecutive games amid a spirited Alcaraz resurgence, Korda regrouped impressively to seal a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 victory in two hours, 19 minutes.

Competing as the No. 36 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, Korda is the lowest-ranked man to defeat 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 past three matches, including his semi-final defeat to Daniil Medvedev in Indian Wells.

The biggest win of his career 🥶@SebiKorda stuns World No. 1 Alcaraz in dramatic fashion and is 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 a little more stress than I would want, but I’m happy with how I played, happy with how I stayed with it. I kept believing. I got myself in some nasty situations, but I kept going and played really 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 overcome 14th seed Karen Khachanov or 20-year-old qualifier 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 demonstrated just how dangerous he can be when fully fit. The former World No. 15 and three-time ATP Tour champion delivered a composed opening set, landing 75 per cent of his first serves and striking five aces.

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Alcaraz was at times left without answers, but the Spaniard mounted a spirited comeback late in the second set. Although he did produce a series of confident moves, Korda struck three backhand unforced errors en route to dropping serve to love when attempting to close out the match at 5-4.

It was part of a five-game streak from Alcaraz to force a decider, but Korda reset with impressive composure, rediscovering his clean ballstriking and tactical clarity to close out the match. With the win, he improved to 2-4 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against Alcaraz.

With his victory, Korda became just the sixth American man to defeat a World No. 1 since 2015. He recently hired former Top 40 player Ryan Harrison as part of his coaching setup.

“It was a lot of soul searching,” Korda added. “I’ve gone through a lot of things. I’ve played a lot of great players but haven’t always been able to get it done. I felt when I was playing these top players, I was just spraying the ball and trying to do too much. I sat down with Ryan, and our goal today was to play average, to not try and 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 the Career Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January and followed it with the ATP 500 title in Doha.