Miami Open upsets continue to mount during the tournament’s second week
The fun began early at this year’s Miami Open. The intrigue began this past weekend.
By dusk on Monday, only three of the men’s top 10 were alive at Miami. World No. 3 Novak Djokovic withdrew with a shoulder injury shortly before the tournament began, and No. 5 Lorenzo Musetti also withdrew with an injury, leaving only eight to battle at Hard Rock Stadium.
Star power started flickering when World No. 6 Alex de Minaur of Australia lost to No. 51 Stefano Tsitsipas of Greece on Friday.
It began dimming when World No. 9 Ben Shelton — the second-highest ranked American — lost Saturday, also in the Round of 64, in three sets to 84th-ranked Alexander Shevchenko.
It diminished even more Sunday with the stunner, when World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain — the 2022 Miami Open winner — fell to No. 36 Sebastian Korda 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in third-round play.
Korda, a 25-year-old Czech-American from Bradenton, became just the sixth American man to defeat a World No. 1 since 2015 — in his first match against the world’s top player.
Korda’s mother and father both were top touring pros, his mother Regina peaking at No. 26 and his father Petr at No. 2. His older sister, Nella, is a golfer ranked No. 2 on the LPGA Tour and was the women’s gold medalist at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
“There are so many amazing players that could be World No. 1 right now,’’ Korda said. “From the beginning, all I wanted was just to take care of my side of the court. Wasn’t going to have a bad attitude, wasn’t not going to be committed and believing.
“That’s one thing when you’re playing against these higher-ranked players — you kind of lose that belief a little bit.’’
Said Alcaraz immediately after the loss: “It was a tough match, obviously. Sebi was incredible, played such a great game. A lot of tight, tight moments that I just didn’t make the most of. He was better in [those] points, [those] moments
“...My mind right now is to take some days off to reset my mind, reset the batteries, be ready and in good shape for the clay season.’’
By Monday afternoon, the fourth top-10 ATP player — No. 10 and 2023 Miami Open winner Daniil Medvedev of Russia – had fallen to 19th-ranked Francisco Cerundolo 6-0, 4-6, 7-5 in the Round of 32. Before Monday, the last time Medvedev couldn’t win a game in a first set of an ATP tournament was in February 2018.
“I knew it was going to be a super tough match,’’ Cerundolo said. “When I was 6-0 up I didn’t expect it. I was playing really good, but he was missing a lot.
“It started to change, but I kept fighting, kept believing.
Said Medvedev: “One win and you’re happy, one loss and you’re disappointed. I was sure disappointed. ...
“Days like this can happen. It was a very tough day. I didn’t feel anything on the court. I was missing a lot and somehow got back into the match, which was a bit of a miracle. I had my chances, but on a day like this, to win is tough. He has a good forehand and everyone knows he’s a top-20 player.’’
There were more top-10 upsets during Monday’s day session in the men’s field, with No. 53 Terence Atmane of France defeating No. 8 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.
Women’s draw
By Monday afternoon, three top-10 women had been upset at Miami: No. 3 Iga Swiatek of Poland to countrywoman Magda Linette 1-6, 7-5, 6-3; No. 7 Jasmine Paolini of Italy to Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 5-7, 6-2, 7-5; and No 8 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine to American Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 7-5.
The fourth top-10 slaying was a given, as No. 9 Victoria Mboko of Canada defeated No. 8 Mirra Andreeva of Russia 7-6, 4-6, 6-0.
Earlier Monday, No. 13 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic defeated No. 29 Alexandra Eala 6-0, 6-2 to reach the Round of 16.
“I was trying to be very aggressive,’’ Muchova, 29, said. “I was trying to keep my spot on the baseline and that worked pretty well.”
Eala, 20, of the Philippines has become friends with Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, a Filipino-American who has been a fan of Eala’s for years. Eala lost to Jessica Pegula in the Miami Open semifinal last year, but this year exited the tournament in the Round of 16.
“I think [Muchova] played really well and I definitely didn’t play my best,” Eala said. “But I’m still happy with my progress and the trajectory of my improvement.
“It’s important to know that even though I had great wins, after a great win I’m not all that good and after a bad loss I’m not all that bad.”
This story was originally published March 23, 2026 at 4:35 PM.
