Miami Gardens (USA), March 23: Carlos Alcaraz was eliminated in the third round of the Miami Open on Sunday, losing to Sebastian Korda in three sets.
The 22-year-old Alcaraz, who completed the career Grand Slam when he won the Australian Open in January, dropped to 17-2 this season. The No. 1 player in the men’s rankings also lost to Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals at Indian Wells last weekend.
Korda served for the match at 5-4 in the second, but Alcaraz rallied by winning five consecutive games. The 25-year-old Korda then regrouped and closed out a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 victory in two hours, 19 minutes.
At No. 36, Korda became the lowest-ranked man to beat Alcaraz since No. 55 David Goffin accomplished the feat in the second round in Miami last year, according to the ATP Tour.
Next up for Korda is qualifier Martin Landaluce, who advanced with a 6-3, 7-6 (2) win against 14th-seeded Karen Khachanov.
Americans Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul joined Korda in the fourth round. The sixth-seeded Fritz beat Reilly Opelka 6-3, 6-4, and No. 22 seed Paul eliminated Raphael Collignon with a 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (5) victory.
No. 21 Jiri Lehecka, No. 24 Valentin Vacherot and No. 29 Tomas Martin Etcheverry also were among the winners.(AP)
