Friday night in Miami, another player exploited Carlos Alcaraz’s susceptibility to falling into a tennis trough while his opponent hits their peak. David Goffin, the former world No. 3 from Belgium, came back from losing the first set to knock an out-of-sorts Alcaraz out of the Miami Open, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.
“A poor level from me,” Alcaraz, the current world No. 3, told reporters after the match.
“Not feeling great or confident physically, it’s really tough to get back,” he said.
Alcaraz, 21, has signaled that he is aware of his propensity to disappear in matches, but even remedying that will do little to cancel out another phenomenon in which his opponents readily seem to find their best level against him, even briefly. Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong did it at last year’s French Open, which Alcaraz won; Frances Tiafoe and Ugo Humbert did the same at Wimbledon, which Alcaraz also won.
Humbert repeated the trick at the Paris Masters last fall — in conditions which favor the Frenchman’s sliding, flat, left-handed game — while the Czechs Tomas Machac and Jiri Lehecka did it in Shanghai and Doha respectively. Against Jack Draper at Indian Wells last week, he recovered from a weak first set, but dropped off again in the third.
World No. 55 Goffin, 34, did it Friday night, going on the attack whenever he could and sliding serves out of Alcaraz’s reach on the forehand side. When he couldn’t attack, he let Alcaraz make mistakes. Playing Alcaraz and world No. 1 Jannik Sinner is largely an exercise in ‘attack or be attacked,’ but Sinner’s greater solidity in the face of any barrages has let him come through them unscathed, while a brief peak against Alcaraz is more likely to lead to a change in match state.
He may take solace in having little to defend before the French Open as the circuit transitions to clay.
Daniil Medvedev, the world No. 8, joined Alcaraz in making a surprise exit by losing to Jaume Munar, the world No. 56. Munar, whose hard-court game has improved through 2025 thanks to greater aggression, ultimately dominated Medvedev in winning 6-2, 6-3. Medvedev again ranted against the balls in use, questioning how they could be suitable for a professional tournament, before receiving two code violations for smashing his racket.
Goffin will face Brandon Nakashima of the U.S. in the third round; Munar will play Gael Monfils of France.
(Photo: Leonardo Fernandez / Getty Images)
