Sebastian Korda turned Hard Rock Stadium into upset central on Sunday, bouncing world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 at the Miami Open in Miami Gardens. The three-set shocker sent the top seed packing far earlier than expected and pushed the American into the later rounds with one of the biggest wins of his career.
Korda set the tone early with heavy serving and deep, laser-clean groundstrokes, grabbing the opening set and then wrestling back control in the deciding set after Alcaraz mounted a second-set comeback, according to The New York Times. Spanish coverage likewise cast the result as a major surprise and reported the match ran about two hours and 18 minutes, per El País.
How Korda Pulled It Off
Korda, 25, has quietly been building steam this season and arrived in Miami fresh off a title run at the Delray Beach Open in February. The taller American leaned on a booming serve and an aggressive, first-strike forehand to shove Alcaraz well behind the baseline and dictate the biggest points. Korda's age and recent results are laid out on his player profile and related tournament pages, which highlight his Delray Beach win earlier this year. His biographical entry on Wikipedia and the Delray Beach singles results page on Wikipedia both flag that February title as a key springboard.
What This Means For Alcaraz
For Alcaraz, this is a rare stumble in what has otherwise been a blistering start to 2026. He came into Miami as ATP world No. 1 after lifting the Australian Open trophy and then the Qatar (Doha) title earlier in the season, per the ATP Tour. Coverage of the Doha final described his February form as dominant, with Sky Sports labeling that title run "imperious," a word that makes Sunday's early exit look all the more jarring.
What's Next
Korda now moves deeper into the Miami draw carrying a signature win that players dream about and opponents definitely notice, with momentum to spare heading into the rest of the Sunshine Double. Alcaraz, despite the setback, is still expected to launch his clay-court season in Monte Carlo in early April, according to scheduling projections. Tennis365 outlines that likely clay plan, and the Miami Open's official site lists Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens as the event venue at 347 Don Shula Drive. The tournament's results page on the Miami Open site confirms the location.
Sunday's upset scrambles the bracket and hands Korda a marquee result that could reshape how contenders are viewed heading into both the remaining hard-court swing and the looming clay stretch. The top half of the Miami draw will not look quite the same after this one.
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