World No.1 Alcaraz Beaten By Korda In Miami Open Third Round

(MENAFN- Jordan Times) MIAMI - World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz crashed out of the third round of the Miami Open on Sunday, beaten 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 by 36th-ranked American Sebastian Korda.

Korda notched his first victory over a World No.1, sending Alcaraz to his second straight early exit in Miami -- where Alcaraz lifted the trophy in 2022 but lost his second-round opener to 55th-ranked Belgian David Goffin last year.

It looked like Korda had missed his chance when he served for the match at 5-4 in the second set and was broken at love.

Alcaraz won the next two games to force a third set. The Spaniard stepped up his intensity, but Korda didn't buckle and it was Korda who seized a break for 4-3 in the third when Alcaraz sailed a forehand wide.

He held his next service game with confidence, slamming down an overhead winner on game point and after Alcaraz held serve to force Korda to serve for the match again, the American made no mistake, sealing victory on his second match point as Alcaraz sent a service return long.

"It feels great," said Korda, who has been ranked as high as 15th in the world but has endured two seasons disrupted by injury.

"I took the scenic route, that's for sure -- a little more stress than I would want but happy with how I played, happy with how I stayed with it.

"He's unbelievable in every aspect of his game, movement, volleys, forehand, backhand, there's nothing he can't do," Korda said of Alcaraz, who won the Australian Open in January to become the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam.

The 22-year-old Spaniard had followed that up with a title in Doha and had pushed his unbeaten 2026 record to 16-0 before falling in the semifinals at Indian Wells this month.

Korda will face either Spanish qualifier Martin Landaluce or 14th-seeded Karen Khachanov for a place in the quarter-finals.

Medvedev ousted by Cerundolo


Daniil Medvedev crashed out of the Miami Open on Monday, losing a roller-coaster three-set third round battle against Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 6-0, 4-6, 7-5.

Medvedev, who reached the final at Indian Wells earlier this month, looked to be heading for a brisk exit after 18th seed Cerundolo raced through the first set in just over 20 minutes.

But Medvedev rallied in the second set to level the match, and there was little to choose between the two in the deciding set.

Cerundolo held to take a 6-5 lead and then scored the decisive break to clinch victory when Medvedev double-faulted on match point.

Medvedev is just the latest highly-ranked seed to fall in Miami's early rounds following the exits of world number one Carlos Alcaraz, Australian fifth seed Alex De Minaur and eighth seed Ben Shelton.

Canadian seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime also bit the dust on Monday, losing in three sets to unseeded Frenchman Terence Atmane.

Atmane, ranked 53rd in the world, powered into he last 16 with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 victory in 1hr 53mins.

Another French player also progressed in the men's draw on Monday, with 31st seed Ugo Humbert beating Kazakhstan's Alexander Shevchenko 6-4, 7-6 (7/2).

In the women's draw, Czech 13th seed Karolina Muchova strolled into the quarter-finals with a 6-0, 6-2 rout of Alexandra Eala of the Philippines, advancing to the last eight in just one hour.

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