Carlos Alcaraz was unable to continue his hot start to 2026, losing to Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells semi-finals.
Alcaraz, who was looking to win his 17th consecutive match to start the season, was defeated 3-6, 6-7 by Daniil Medvedev; who appears to have recaptured his Grand Slam winning form.
Despite the loss, Alcaraz should take many positives from his week in California: he defended the ranking points he won at the 2025 Indian Wells event, setting himself up for a strong run heading into the clay-court swing.
The 22-year-old has taken advantage of almost every opportunity handed to him at the start of this year, and another opening will present itself to the Spaniard when he competes in the next Masters 1000 event.
Carlos Alcaraz’s big opportunity in Miami
Carlos Alcaraz failed to impress at last year’s Miami Masters, losing his opening round match to world number 55 David Goffin.
It was a poor performance from Alcaraz, who committed 42 unforced errors during the 7-5, 4-6, 3-6 loss.
A year later, Alcaraz can use this loss to his advantage.
Having lost his opening round match to Goffin at last year’s event, Alcaraz only earned 30 ATP ranking points.
Consequently, Alcaraz has the opportunity to gain up to 970 ranking points at this year’s event.
Do you believe Carlos Alcaraz is already the greatest tennis player of all time?
With Jannik Sinner defending zero points across the sunshine swing and clay-court swing [until the French Open], it is imperative that Alcaraz strengthen his status as the world number one when he plays in Miami.
The Spaniard has previously demonstrated that he can perform well at the event, as shown by his title-winning 2022 campaign.
Who’s to say that Alcaraz won’t add a second Miami Masters title to his collection when he plays at the event later this month?
Carlos Alcaraz’s record at the Miami Masters
- 2021: Lost to Emil Ruusuvuori in Round One
- 2022: Won his first Miami Masters title after beating Casper Ruud in the final
- 2023: Lost to Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals
- 2024: Lost to Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals
- 2025: Lost to David Goffin in the second round [opening match]
Carlos Alcaraz’s reaction after losing to David Goffin
After losing to Goffin last year, Alcaraz admitted that he had not played his best tennis.
“I didn’t play well, physically I didn’t feel well,” Alcaraz said after the defeat, as per TNT Sports.
“When you don’t have the confidence of your level physically, I think it’s really tough to maintain good tennis.
Can Carlos Alcaraz win MORE Grand Slams than Novak Djokovic? 🤔
“I didn’t feel well in my legs. I wasn’t injured, I wasn’t sick. I was feeling perfectly before the match. I felt good, a little bit nervous, which is normal before the match.
“But nothing more than that. I just felt ready, I thought that I was going to play really good tennis. It didn’t happen.”
After beating Alcaraz, Goffin lost to Brandon Nakashima in the Miami Masters third round.
Jakub Menšík won the title, beating Novak Djokovic in the final.
