Miami Open: World number one Carlos Alcaraz suffered a surprise defeat to American Sebastian Korda in the third round

World number one Carlos Alcaraz exited the third round of the Miami Open tennis tournament after a shock 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 loss to Sebastian Korda.

Top seed Alcaraz (22 years old) played a rocky first set, which gave the American player the early initiative, but Korda seemed to waste his chance in the second set.

Korda served at 5-4 but was broken by the Spaniard, who won the next two games to force a third set.

Alcaraz increased his lead, but Korda maintained his nerve and broke his serve to lead 4-3 in the third set when his opponent sent a forehand wide of the goal.

Korda, ranked 36th in the world, confidently held his next two service games to close out the match – sealing the win on his second match point as Alcaraz cruised past the comeback.

“It feels great,” said Korda, who sealed the victory in two hours and 19 minutes by defeating one of the best players for the first time in his career.

“I took the scenic route, that’s for sure – a bit more pressure than I wanted but I’m happy with the way I played.

“I kept believing. I found myself in some bad situations, but I kept going and played well in the end.”

Korda (25 years old) is the lowest-ranked player to defeat Alcaraz since Belgian David Goffin, ranked 55 in the world, defeated the Spaniard in the second round in Miami last year.

Alcaraz began the year by winning his seventh Grand Slam title by winning the Australian Open, and did not suffer his first loss this season until he fell to Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals of Indian Wells.

Korda, who reached the quarter-finals at the Miami Open in 2021 and 2025 but has never gone beyond that before, will face 14th seed Karen Khachanov or qualifier Martin Landalos in the fourth round.