Miami, 23 March (H.S.):

A massive upset rocked the Miami Open 2026 on Sunday as world number one Carlos Alcaraz suffered a third-round exit at the hands of American Sebastian Korda in a gripping three-set battle.

The 22-year-old Alcaraz, who completed the career Grand Slam with his Australian Open triumph in January this year, now sits at 17-2 for the season. He had fallen to Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells semifinals just last week.

Korda seized control in the second set with a chance to serve for the match at 5-4, but Alcaraz roared back, reeling off five straight games. The 25-year-old American steadied himself in the decider, though, clinching a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 victory.

It was a tough match, Alcaraz said afterward. Korda played brilliantly and stepped up better than me on the key points.

Korda credited confidence for his breakthrough. The biggest thing today was self-belief, he said. I trusted every shot and it paid off in the end.

According to the ATP Tour, the world No. 36 Korda became the lowest-ranked player to defeat Alcaraz, topping David Goffin's feat from last year.

Korda faces qualifier Martin Landaluce next after the Spaniard stunned Karen Khachanov to advance.

In other men's action, Americans Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul punched tickets to the fourth round. Jiri Lehecka, Valentin Vacherot and Tomas Martin Etcheverry also progressed with wins.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar