Korda Upsets Alcaraz In Young-Gun Thriller

Sebastian Korda earned the biggest win of his season Wednesday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, edging #NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(2), 6-7(5), 6-3 to reach the third round.

World No. 11 Alcaraz arrived in Monte Carlo in red-hot form, having captured his maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown in Miami. However the 18-year-old, who was making his debut at the clay-court event, was unable to cope with Korda’s heavy-hitting, variety and depth of shot in windy conditions on Court Rainier III.

The American rallied from a break down in the third set as he struck the ball with fierce accuracy throughout to disrupt Alcaraz’s rhythm and advance after three hours and four minutes. With victory, Korda gained revenge for his defeat to Alcaraz at the 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, where the Spaniard triumphed in the championship match.

Korda, who eliminated Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in the first round, is also competing in Monte Carlo for the first time. The World No. 42 will next face Indian Wells champion Taylor Fritz or Croatian Marin Cilic as he aims to reach his second quarter-final of the season, after advancing to the last eight in Delray Beach.

The 21-year-old has tasted success on clay before, with his only tour-level title coming on the surface in Parma last year. Meanwhile, Alcaraz became the youngest ATP 500 champion when he captured the trophy on clay in Rio de Janeiro in February.

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In an entertaining match between two of the most exciting prospects on Tour, Alcaraz and Korda had to demonstrate good footwork to cope with the wind. Korda raced into a 4-2 lead in the first set, however, Alcaraz then started to find his range, rolling off three straight games.

He was twice unable to serve out the set though as Korda returned with great depth before playing the more consistent tennis in the tie-break to lead. Korda then showed his fighting spirit in the second set as he battled back from 0-3 down as both players struggled to find their range from the baseline in a topsy-turvy clash. The American saved three set points on serve at 4-5, leaving another tie-break to decide the set.

Alcaraz demonstrated his recent winning mentality in the tie-break, hanging in rallies and executing drop shots to perfection to level. The cat-and-mouse points continued in the third set, with both looking to drag each other around the court with deft touches. The match remained finely poised until deep into the deciding set, when Korda broke to move 5-3 ahead. The American then served out to triumph.