Tennis: Alcaraz Out In Miami Second Round

A blunt Carlos Alcaraz said he played at “a poor level” in his surprise Miami Open second-round defeat by David Goffin.

Four-time major champion Alcaraz struggled for consistency in a 5-7 6-4 6-3 loss to Belgium’s world number 55 Goffin.

Spain’s Alcaraz had won the Miami Open title in 2022 and reached the semi-finals at Indian Wells last week.

“I thought I was going to play really good tennis but it didn’t happen,” Alcaraz, 21, said.

“I didn’t feel well in my legs – I wasn’t injured, I wasn’t sick. I was feeling perfectly before the match.

“In general, it was a poor level from me.”

By contrast, Novak Djokovic snapped his three-match losing streak with a 6-0 7-6 (7-1) victory over Australia’s Rinky Hijikata.

Alcaraz committed 42 unforced errors against Goffin, who is the first player outside the top-30 to beat the world number three.

“It’s that kind of night that I will remember for sure – against Carlos and in a stadium like that,” Goffin said.

Fourth seed Djokovic raced through the first set without dropping a game and although he was made to work harder in the second, still won in a little over an hour and 20 minutes.

The Serb, who received a bye in round one, will face world number 69 Camilo Ugo Carabelli of Argentina in the next round.

Build-up to the tournament has been dominated by news that the Professional Tennis Players’ Association (PTPA), co-founded by Djokovic, has begun legal action against tennis’ governing bodies.

However, in his first match in Miami since 2019, the 37-year-old showed no signs of being distracted as Hijikata was swiftly swatted aside.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion broke in the second game of the match and never looked back, winning the first set to love in 28 minutes.

It was more of a contest in the second, but Djokovic dominated in the tie-break to move a step closer to a seventh Miami Open title.

“I was playing really well, I mean on a very high level from the beginning, I knew exactly what I wanted to do tactically,” he said.

“Obviously it’s just the first match but the way I felt on the court and the way I played is really encouraging.”