American Sebastian Korda, seeded No. 32, created a sensation on Sunday by dominating world number one Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in the third round of the Miami Open. The 36th player in the world achieved the greatest success of his career at the Hard Rock Stadium and thus earned himself a place in the round of 16 in Miami for the third time in his career.
Alcaraz, defending champion in Miami in 2022, suffers his second consecutive premature exit in this tournament. Last year, he was knocked out in the second round by the Belgian David Goffin, then 55th in the world.
Alcaraz leaves Miami with a still remarkable record of 17 victories for only 2 defeats since the start of the season. The 22-year-old Spaniard approached this tournament in sparkling form: in January, at the Australian Open, he became the youngest player in history to achieve the Grand Slam in his career, before brilliantly winning an ATP 500 title in Doha. But the native of El Palmar had already stumbled in the semi-final of Indian Wells against Daniil Medvedev, and Sunday’s defeat confirmed a slight setback in a first quarter of the season which was nevertheless exceptional: two losses in his last three outings.
After three months of competition, the circuit has still not seen a duel between Alcaraz and Sinner. The Italian continues his journey and remains in the race to achieve the prestigious “Sunshine Double”, a feat that only Roger Federer has accomplished since 2017.
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Korda’s sovereign entry into the fray
Korda, for his part, became only the sixth American to win against the world number one since 2015. A first for him too, after four successive failures against the player at the top of the world rankings.
Throughout the match, the 24-year-old American relied on his serve, scoring 12 aces without conceding the slightest double fault. He won 101 points to 97 for Alcaraz after a duel lasting two hours and twenty minutes – numbers which alone illustrate the tiny gap separating the two champions.
Korda’s strategy was clear from the start: put pressure on, take the initiative and never let Alcaraz breathe. The American saw his plan validated by breaking in the fifth game to win the first set 6-3.
“We sat down with Ryan; our goal today was to get him playing,” Korda said after the meeting, referring to his new coach, former top 40 player Ryan Harrison. “We just had to put the ball in play. Don’t ask for too much. » Korda recognized that this tactical choice allowed him to avoid the unforced errors that had often betrayed him during his previous confrontations at the highest level.
A disaster narrowly avoided in the second half
The second set almost undid all the work Korda had accomplished. While serving for the match at 5-4, the American was broken point blank, giving Alcaraz the momentum he needed to win five straight games and snatch a deciding set. This type of slump – a brutal stoppage, an avalanche of unforced errors – has too often cost the American dearly when the stakes were highest.
Although Alcaraz attempted a spectacular comeback at the end of the second set, Korda showed remarkable composure to regain control of operations, regaining all his precision and tactical lucidity to definitively seal the fate of the match. The decisive turning point came at 3-3 in the third set, when Alcaraz sent a forehand down the lane, handing the break to Korda. The American then no longer gave his opponent the slightest chance.
“I found myself in complicated situations,” Korda admitted after the meeting. “But I continued to fight and believe in it until the end. I really raised my level of play at the end of the match. »
For Korda, this coronation has a meaning that goes far beyond the simple sporting result. After missing two and a half months of competition last season due to a stress fracture in his right tibia, and seeing his ranking drop to 86th place in the world, the American reminded everyone what he is capable of when he finds his best level. The title won in Delray Beach last month was already a strong signal; today he has just confirmed it brilliantly by offering himself the most beautiful trophy of his career.
Korda will challenge Spanish qualifier Martín Landaluce, compatriot of Alcaraz, in the fourth round. Ranked 151st in the world, Landaluce had to go through qualifying to enter the main draw, before successively dismissing Marcos Giron and Luciano Darderi to reach the third round. He then dominated Russian Karen Khachanov, seeded No. 14, with a score of 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-4, thus offering himself a duel against Korda. If successful, the American would reach the quarter-finals, which would represent his best result in Miami, which he had already reached in 2021 and 2025.
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