Monte-Carlo Masters LIVE: Sebastian Korda stuns Miami Open Champion Carlos Alcaraz with fighting victory in three sets in second round

Monte-Carlo Masters LIVE: 21-year old unseeded Sebastian Korda showed git and determination to outlast eighth seed Carlos Alcaraz in the second round of the Monte Carlos Masters on Wednesday. The American won the game 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (2-7), 6-3 to advance into the third round of the ATP 1000 event. With the win, Korda has levelled the head-to-head record 1-1 with the Spaniard, after losing the finals of the 2021 Next Gen ATP Finals in Italy last year. Follow InsideSport.IN for more updates. 

Surprise sur le court Rainier III, Carlos Alcaraz s’incline face à Sebastian Korda 7-6 6-7 6-3 en 3h02min.

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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 the windy conditions on Court Rainier III.

The American rallied from a break down in the third set with the wind leading to errors and few long rallies as the match went on. With his three-hour, one-minute 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.

“It was nice to get the victory today,” Korda said in his on-court interview. “I stayed calm and believed in my returning. It was super tough, every time he threw up the ball it moved around. It was a crazy match.”

The game started of on an event note until the fourth game in the first set when both the players won their respective service games to level 2-2. In the fifth game, Alcaraz was leading the game 40-30, but squandered the break point opportunity by hitting two shots in the net. The American took the set by hitting a brilliant drop shot.

From then on, Korda began dominating as he broke Alcaraz service game to lead 4-2. In the next set too Korda had a lead of 40-0 but Alcaraz displayed terrific fightback to win the set. Alcaraz went on to win three consecutive game to take a 5-4 lead in the first set.  Korda however, broke Alcaraz twice to take the game into the tie breaker, which he won 7-2 to win the first set 7-6.

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.