Having started the year with sixteen consecutive wins, an Australian Open title, and a 34‑match winning streak dating back to 2025, there’s no doubt that 22‑year‑old Carlos Alcaraz is still on the path to greatness. Alcaraz, who remains locked in his rivalry with world No. 2 Jannik Sinner, another record‑setter, carries an aura of intimidation every time he steps on court — but the Sunshine Double didn’t quite demonstrate that.
The Medvedev Defeat in Indian Wells
At ATP Indian Wells in the California desert, Alcaraz was first pushed to three sets by the far lesser‑known Arthur Rinderknech, surviving a tricky night match after dropping the opening set in a tiebreak. He later had Daniil Medvedev on deck in the semifinals. Medvedev was red‑hot, on the cusp of returning to the top 10 and already twice an ATP champion in 2026, and he played without fear against Alcaraz. His serve was a lethal weapon in the first set, and across the match he won more than 70 percent of his second‑serve points while facing only one break of serve.
In the second set, even when Alcaraz raised his level and broke for 3–1, Medvedev kept dragging him into long, physical rallies, pushed him into errors, and immediately broke back before dominating the tiebreak to close out a 6–3, 7–6(3) win. It was Medvedev’s first win over a world No. 1 since Wimbledon 2024 and snapped Alcaraz’s 16–0 start to the year, a reminder that there is at least one more player on the ATP Tour who can stand up to Alcaraz and Sinner and disrupt their duopoly (Sinner went on to win the tournament, beating Medvedev in the final).
After the match, Alcaraz didn’t appear despondent; he largely praised Medvedev for an “amazing” performance and said he had “never seen Daniil playing like this,” framing it as a match where his opponent simply played too well rather than a crisis for his own game. It was onwards to Miami, where the Spaniard was still expected to dominate.
Korda Stands Up to Alcaraz in Miami
Carlos Alcaraz’s tournament in Miami started against João Fonseca, a talented next‑gen player with massive support from the Brazilian diaspora in Florida. Alcaraz’s only title in Miami had come in 2022, he was highly motivated, and he had the edge over Fonseca from the start: he broke once in each set, never faced a break point on his own serve, and landed close to 70 percent first serves while winning around 80 percent of those points. Alcaraz simply outhit Fonseca in what was a great showcase for both, and things were looking up for Carlos.
Then came the third round against Sebastian Korda. The American has always been talented; he’s just struggled to stay fit and consistent. Korda, who grew up around tennis as the son of former Australian Open champion Petr Korda, plays a fearless, flat‑hitting brand of tennis that allows him to compete with the giants of the sport on his best days.
That best day came on Sunday in Miami. Korda upset Alcaraz 6–3, 5–7, 6–4 to hand the Spaniard his second loss of 2026 and his earliest exit of the year. It took a little over two hours. Korda served brilliantly in the first set, winning more than 80 percent of his first‑serve points, broke once, and closed it 6–3. In the second, he led 5–4 and served for the match before tightening and getting broken to love; Alcaraz went on the charge and stole the set 7–5, winning five games in a row from 3–5. In the decider, Korda broke again for 4–3 with aggressive returning and kept his nerve on serve, taking it 6–4 with a big first serve and fearless forehand on his second match point.
Like the loss to Medvedev, Korda out‑served Alcaraz, his flat ball off both wings really mattered in rushing Carlos, and the American claimed his first win over a world No. 1.
“Frustration and Disappointment” — Or Something More for Alcaraz?
Post‑match in Miami, Alcaraz expressed “a little bit of frustration and disappointment” over his defeat, saying he had “many very disputed moments” and chances to do better but “couldn’t capitalize” and that Korda “was better… in those important points.” He still felt he’d played “a good match overall,” echoing his reaction after the Medvedev loss, and talked about accepting that opponents will swing freely against a No. 1 and using this to “play better in those moments” going forward.
The question ahead of the clay‑court season is whether Alcaraz simply ran into opponents in purple patches, serving out of their minds, or whether he’s finally losing a bit of momentum and giving players other than Sinner a clearer blueprint to beat him. Looking at his match record this season, entirely on hard courts, it’s clear the warning signs were there even before the losses.
At the Australian Open, Tommy Paul pushed him in all three sets but couldn’t take one; Alexander Zverev had a visibly ill Alcaraz against the ropes in the semifinal, only to mentally collapse and let the match slip. Novak Djokovic, still dangerous but no longer peak Novak, couldn’t sustain a high level in the final. A month later in Qatar, Karen Khachanov took the opening set in a tiebreak and pushed Alcaraz deep into a physical three‑setter, and Rinderknech did the same at Indian Wells, leading by a set and a break before Carlos turned it around.
This is not a player who is untouchable so much as one who has been living on those fine margins and winning most of them. In each of those matchups, the style has been broadly similar: big servers, flat hitters, players who don’t back down against his return game and are willing to hit through his heavy topspin. If you serve well enough against Alcaraz, you can get to the finish line — Medvedev and Korda just proved it.
The Clay‑Court Template
Now the calendar flips to clay: Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome. Alcaraz has won roughly 85 percent of his tour‑level matches on the surface — better than his hard‑court record of around 78 percent — sitting at 98–18 lifetime on clay and undefeated there since losing the Barcelona final to Holger Rune last April. Big serving and flat hitting don’t translate as easily on slower clay courts that reward heavy spin, movement, and point construction. That’s why Alcaraz, getting additional rest even if he didn’t want it this way, is just as likely to flip the script when the surface changes and go on another long winning streak.
He’s not unbeatable, but clay is a tougher surface on which to beat him, and this window may be exactly the rest he needs to lock in and make more history. In the meantime, we get an ATP Miami tournament with space for another star to shine, while Alcaraz resets and gets ready to go again on the clay.