Playing in 36th place on the PIF ATP rankings, Korda is the lowest-ranked player to defeat Alcaraz since world No. 55 David Goffin surprised by overcoming the Spanish star in the second round of the Miami tournament last year.
After a perfect start with 16 consecutive wins in 2026, Alcaraz has now lost two of their last three matches, including the defeat to Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells semi-finals.
“The pressure was somewhat greater than I expected, but I am satisfied with my performance, satisfied with the way I persisted. I always believed. I fell into some difficult situations, but I still continued and finally played very well,” Korda said after the match.
Korda will now strive to repeat his best record in Miami, where he reached the quarterfinals in 2021 and 2025. To do that, he must overcome 14th seed Karen Khachanov or 20-year-old young player Martin Landaluce in the fourth round.
After being sidelined for two and a half months last year due to a broken tibia and falling to 86th place in the PIF ATP rankings, Korda has proven how impressive his form is when he is completely healthy.
The former world No. 15 and three-time ATP Tour champion had a confident opening set, serving successfully 75% and scoring five aces against Alcaraz.
After losing to Alcaraz in set 2, Korda played calmly and surely in the decisive set. He took advantage of Alcaraz's shot out to lead 5-3 and seal the victory in the opportunity to win the second match point.
Carlos Alcaraz started 2026 by winning the seventh Grand Slam title of his career and completed the Career Grand Slam with victory at the Australian Open.
The Spanish player only suffered his first defeat of the season when he lost to Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells semi-finals and currently has a record of 17-2 (17 wins, 2 losses) this year.
Alcaraz, who won the Miami Open in 2022 at the age of 18, was also eliminated early from the 2025 tournament when he lost to Belgian David Goffin, an unseeded player, in three sets in the second round.
Like last year, Alcaraz will now have more time to prepare for the clay court season, starting with the Monte-Carlo Masters next month.
