Alcaraz stunned by unseeded Goffin at Miami Open. Here’s what else happened on Friday
Friday night ended in a shocker at the Miami Open as former champion and No. 2 seeded Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz was ousted 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 by 55th-ranked and unseeded David Goffin of Belgium.
Alcaraz was 9-0 against players outside the Top 30 this season and was 21-1 against players outside the Top 50 since the start of March last year. But the 34-year-old Goffin gave him trouble from the start of the late evening match and Alcaraz was never able to get comfortable. The crowd tried a few times to fire up Alcaraz, but he could not pull it off.
“It’s nights like that that you feel great,” Goffin said immediately after the match. “That’s not the case every day. I was feeling the ball really well. I have the experience. I can be dangerous. But everything has to be aligned and it was that kind of night.”
Goffin has won three consecutive matches against Top 3 players. He previously beat Alcaraz in Astana in 2022 and World No. 3 Alexander Zverev last October in Shanghai.
It was the second straight defeat for Alcaraz, who lost to Jack Draper in the semifinal at Indian Wells last week.
“He played a high level tennis, you have to give him credit, but it was a poor level for me,” a dejected Alcaraz said an hour after the match. “I wanted to play better. I didn’t feel well physically, it was one of those matches where when you don’t have the confidence in your level physically and it’s really tough to maintain good tennis. I didn’t put pressure on him and he was able to stay confident.”
He said he did not feel sick and didn’t have an injury, but his legs felt a bit heavy as the match wore on. He added that he felt great before the match, “a little bit nervous, which is normal,” but did not expect that kind of night.
Asked how he feels about the first part of the season, Alcaraz said: “I feel terrible after this loss. It hurts. I don’t know if I want to analyze it, or forget it.”
With Alcaraz out of the tournament, the draw opens up for the other top men.
Six-time Miami champion Novak Djokovic, who is tied with Andre Agassi for most titles at the event, is back for the first time in six years and got off to a good start earlier Friday with a 6-0, 7-6 (7-1) second round win over Rinky Hijikata of Australia. Djokovic cruised through the first set in 27 minutes, was tested in the second, but prevailed.
“It’s been way too long,” Djokovic said at his courtside interview, adding a shout out to singer Marc Anthony, who was in the Hard Rock Stadium audience with his wife, Nadia Ferreira.
The 37-year-old Serb was eager to get back on track after three consecutive losses, his worst stretch since 2018. He was coming off a shocking 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 loss to 85th-ranked Botic Van De Zandschulp in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California.
“It was super important [to win the match],” Djokovic said. “I wanted to make a statement to myself and to others, as well, that I’m still able to play on a high level. I lost two tournaments in my first rounds, so I really was eager to get the win in the first match in Miami Open. I played nearly flawless tennis almost for set and a half. He stepped it up in the second set, deservedly took it to a tiebreak, and then I played a great tiebreak.”
Djokovic added former rival Andy Murray to his coaching team this year and so far, it seems to be a good pairing.
Asked if he has learned anything about Murray he didn’t know when they were playing against each other, Djokovic replied: “I didn’t know how good of a golfer he is. Great golfer (smiling). Great humor. I mean, we knew that before.
“Just super-nice guy that cares about relationships with people, that cares about this coach/player relationship we have, and he wants me to do well. He’s just very genuine guy. I enjoy spending time with him, for sure.”
Djokovic’s third round opponent is lucky loser Camilo Ugo Carabelli of Argentina, who rallied past American Alex Michelsen 6-7 (3-7), 7-5, 6-3.
Two other former Miami Open champions played on Stadium Court in the day session. One survived, one went home.
Iga Swiatek, the No. 2 women’s seed from Poland and the 2022 Miami winner, beat Caroline Garcia of France 6-2, 7-5.
“I started with big confidence,” Swiatek said. “Second set I let Caro come back to the game a little bit. My energy level went down, so I just tried to pump myself up again and be more intense and more proactive. I’m happy that I did that at the end of the second set.”
Daniil Medvedev, the 2023 men’s Miami champion, was not as fortunate. Battling a sore back, he was eliminated 6-2, 6-3 by Spaniard Jaume Munar.
“I was not 100 percent physically, but I tried my best to get into the match,” Medvedev said. “Every day was better and better. I had some problems after Indian Wells. Can happen. He played well. I wouldn’t go to the match if I definitely knew I’m not ready to win. He played well and won convincingly.”
The popular Frenchman Gael Monfils, 38, became the oldest player in 33 years to win a Miami Open match by defeating Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (10-8). The last player that old who won a match in the tournament was Jimmy Connors in 1992.
Monfils’ wife, Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine, also had a good day with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Belinda Bencic of Switzerland.
Charismatic and injury-prone Australian Nick Kyrgios, who this week earned his first win since October 2022, fell 7-6(7-3), 6-0 to Karen Khachanov in the second round.
“The mental battle, I was so negative to myself, so worked up, much anxiety and the pressure of being back out there playing someone Top 20, I’ve got to be nicer to myself in those moments,” said Kyrgios, who is coming off knee and wrist injuries. “When I lost the first set, I’ve got to get back into it. That’s what I forgot. How good these guys are mentally, on top of their game. Me being out for two years, I’m so negative to myself.”
Despite the loss, Kyrgios was encouraged that he finished back-to-back matches, something he had not done in two years. He called it “a good building block” going forward.
Fifth seeded Casper Ruud of Norway rallied to beat Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Grigor Dmitrov also moved on to the third round.
Australian Open champion Madison Keys, ranked at a career-high No. 5, played the first night match on Stadium Court and beat Elina Avanesyan 6-3, 6-3. She has won 19 matches so far this year, which is second-best on the tour, behind Russian teen phenom Mirra Andreeva.
Keys’ next opponent is 19-year-old wild card Alex Eala of the Philippines, who upset 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
“I know she’s very talented and probably very excited,” Keys saqid of Eala. “She’s playing really good tennis, obviously, to get a win [Friday], so definitely going to have to do some scouting. It’s going to be back to back matches that I don’t really know who I’m playing, which is kind of new to me, but looking forward to it.”
Keys, 30, is playing the best tennis of her career.
“I’d be lying if I said I don’t have a lot of confidence right now,” she said. “The biggest thing is I can figure out matches, no matter what’s going on, and that’s always a good place to be in. I feel like I back myself a lot, even if I’m not playing amazing, knowing that I can still compete and do damage and stay in matches.”
The best women’s match of the day was the Battle of the Emmas. Great Britain’s Emma Radacanu outlasted American No. 8 seed Emma Navarro 7-6 (8-6), 2-6, 7-6 (7-3) to reach the third round of the Miami Open for the first time. The match lasted nearly three hours.
“I’m really pleased to have come through that,” Radacanu said. “It was a really difficult match, both physically, mentally, tennis-wise. Playing Emma, she’s such a tough opponent, moves so well, she’s aggressive and does everything really well.”
The third set was especially grueling and fans in the Grandstand hung on every point.
“I completely left everything on the court,” Radacanu said. “I think there were moments in the third set I thought I was completely down, completely out. I didn’t see a way back from it, to be honest, physically. But then I managed to, I don’t know where, find a source of energy from, and I think I was running on adrenaline.”
Russian 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, coming off a title at Indian Wells, continued her top form, cruising past Veronika Kudermetova 6-0, 6-2 in just over an hour. Fourth seeded Jessica Pegula advanced with a straight-sets win over fellow American Bernarda Pera. And another American, Amanda Anisimova, moved on by beating Mayar Sherif of Egypt 6-2, 6-2.
This story was originally published March 21, 2025 at 7:52 PM.