Carlos Alcaraz’s third-round loss to Sebastian Korda at the Miami Open prompted questions about the Spaniard’s form, but Rafael Nadal dismissed the idea that the result signals a crisis.

The 22-year-old bowed out in Miami for the second year running. His 2026 record stands at 17–2, yet Nadal told reporters in Madrid on Tuesday that criticism is exaggerated. “I mean, when he’s just come off winning the Australian Open, he’s won seven Grand Slams, he’s No. 1 in the world… So, what? Is he supposed to win all of the matches of the year?” Nadal told press. “That’s never going to happen. So there’s your answer.”

Alcaraz’s Sunshine Swing had mixed results. He reached the semifinals in Indian Wells before being upset by No. 11 seed Daniil Medvedev. In Miami he won one match, a high-profile victory over Joao Fonseca, then fell in three sets to No. 32 Sebastian Korda, a result described as the American’s biggest career win.

Nadal argued that a title-less March should not erase Alcaraz’s achievements earlier in the season. The Spaniard captured the Australian Open, becoming the youngest man to complete the Career Grand Slam, won an ATP 500 title in Doha, retained the world No. 1 ranking and extended a 16-match unbeaten run that ended at Indian Wells. “Are we really going to worry about two defeats? I don’t think so,” Nadal said. “That doesn’t make sense, and we shouldn’t demand more from him.”

Nadal, who received an honorary doctorate for excellence in sport from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, reflected on the pressures placed on young players in Spain and urged perspective. “I think what we all have to do is just congratulate Carlos and thank him for everything that he’s accomplishing,” he said. “In the end, he’s bringing a number of achievements to Spanish sport that, maybe 25 or 30 years ago, we wouldn’t have imagined…

“Maybe we’ve all gotten too used to it. But I’ve never lost perspective on how difficult the things are that Carlos is doing—or any athlete from Spain, or any other country.”

Jiri Lehecka leaned on aggression and timely serving to beat Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-2 and advance to the Miami Open quarterfinals. The No. 21 seed served 10 aces, saved all five break points he faced and closed out the victory in just under two and a half hours.

“I kind of felt that in the second set, I gave Taylor a little bit more time to play how he wants to,” the No. 21 seed told Prakash Amritraj. “I wasn’t feeling great, didn’t create that many chances.

“So, that’s why I needed to improve this in the third set, to be more aggressive from the return and finish points at the net.”

Lehecka’s win ended a matchup that Fritz had previously led 4-1 in their head-to-head. The American entered the fourth-round clash as the No. 6 seed but has struggled physically in recent months and had weighed an extended break from the game coming into the Masters 1000 event. Still, Fritz forced a deciding set after winning a second-set tiebreak.

“Against a player like he is, I really need to bring my ‘A’ game,” said Lehecka, who had never been past the third round in three previous main-draw appearances in Miami. “I need to serve well and I can’t give him any chance to feel comfortable on court. So, that’s what I was trying to do. Of course, it’s impossible to hold it the whole match, but I was close.”

Lehecka will meet Spanish qualifier Martin Landaluce in the last eight. The 20-year-old reached the quarterfinals by winning a third straight set to end No. 32 seed Sebastian Korda’s run, a day after Korda stunned world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in three sets.

“It gave me a signal to change something,” Lehecka said of the setback. “I needed to be a little bit more aggressive. Against a guy like him, who is serving incredibly, his return is one of the best on tour. I kind of feel that he can absorb the fast balls easily. At the same time, he can create the power by himself. Sometimes, when you play someone like Taylor, you feel like this guy has answers for everything. That’s what I didn’t want to feel today, and that’s why I was focusing more on the openings of the points. It worked well.”

“You always need to stay in the present, which is so easy to say, but when you’re on the court and the opponent plays well, you’re not feeling great and it’s the biggest challenge!” said Lehecka. “Today, I think my game helped me a little bit to feel good on court.”

This day’s slate at the Miami Open centers on three intriguing quarterfinals that promise contrasting styles and storylines.

Karolina Muchova arrives off a 6-0, 6-2 win over Alex Eala, but Victoria Mboko is hardly an easy draw. “I just know it’s going to be very tough,” Mboko says of facing Muchova. Mboko lost to Muchova in the Doha final last month, 6-4, 7-5, yet she brings credentials of her own: she is ranked five spots higher (No. 9 to 14), reached the Indian Wells quarterfinals where she fell in two tight sets to Aryna Sabalenka, and recently beat Mirra Andreeva in three sets. Mboko’s game currently leans on groundstroke pace and foot speed; her stated objective is to extract more free points from her serve. “Hopefully I can kind of just work with my game and just see what patterns I could do, or whatever I can do to try to gain more free points,” Mboko says. Muchova has more variety to deploy, but she can be overpowered, as Iga Swiatek showed with a 6-2, 6-0 victory at Indian Wells. Winner: Mboko

On the men’s side, Sebastian Korda recently stunned Carlos Alcaraz, and Alex Michelsen will attempt a similar leap when he meets Jannik Sinner. The 21-year-old Californian has shown signs of growth: a Brisbane semifinal to start the year, three wins at Indian Wells including over Taylor Fritz, and two tight Miami wins, over Norrie and Tabilo, both 6-4 in the third. Michelsen has lost twice to Sinner; their first meeting in Cincinnati in 2024 finished 6-4, 7-5 and was closer than the score suggests, while a month later at the US Open Sinner lost just six games in three sets. Sinner is chasing his first Sunshine Double and is a three-time Miami finalist. The 6’4″ Michelsen brings more serve heat than Sinner’s recent opponents. Sinner is the favorite, but Michelsen is maturing and the crowd could matter. Winner: Sinner

Coco Gauff reaches her first Miami quarterfinal in seven appearances after three three-set wins over unseeded opponents. “There’s always that extra layer,” Gauff says of playing in South Florida, where she grew up and still lives. “You just see familiar faces in the crowd. You don’t want to disappoint them.” Her opponent, Belinda Bencic, is a counter-puncher; the two met four times in 2025 with Gauff winning three, two of them in three sets, and Bencic taking the Indian Wells rematch 6-4 in the third. Expect long points and momentum swings.