By Rory Carroll
March 22 (Reuters) – World number one Carlos Alcaraz was stunned by Sebastian Korda 6-3 5-7 6-4 in the third round of the Miami Open on Sunday, giving the American the biggest win of his career.
It appeared Korda had blown his chance to beat the Spaniard when he failed to serve out the match in the second set but he maintained his composure, breaking for 5-3 in the third set and claiming the victory with an unreturnable serve on match point.
The 25-year-old from Florida, ranked world number 36, mixed up his game nicely, effectively using a serve and volley to notch his first win ever over a top-ranked player while also benefiting from an uncharacteristically sloppy Alcaraz.
Alcaraz began the year by winning his seventh Grand Slam title with a triumph at the Australian Open and did not suffer his first loss of the season until he fell to Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals of Indian Wells.
Alcaraz also exited the Miami Open early last year when he fell to unseeded David Goffin of Belgium in three sets in the second round.
Korda, seeded 32nd, will next play either Karen Khachanov or Martin Landaluce in the round of 16.
(Reporting by Rory CarrollEditing by Toby Davis)
