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Belgium’s world number 55 David Goffin stunned Carlos Alcaraz in the second round of the Miami Open at the Hard Rock Stadium, winning a humdinger of a contest in three sets 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. The Spanish tennis star, who is a four-time Grand Slam champion, spoke about how he competed at “a poor level” against a player, who is 52 spots behind him in the ATP world rankings at the Miami Open, a tournament he had won in 2022.
Notably, after getting to the Indian Wells semi-final earlier this month, Carlos Alcaraz had arrived at the Miami Open with high hopes, but his campaign got cut short in the second round. After clinching the first set in a tough battle, he allowed David Goffin to dictate terms to him, apart from making a whopping 42 unforced errors in the match, which led to him losing the remaining two sets.
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I thought I was going to play really good tennis but it didn't happen: Carlos Alcaraz
In his post-match interaction, Carlos Alcaraz admitted to not playing to his full potential despite feeling confident about doing well against David Goffin. He was quoted as saying, as per BBC Sport, “I thought I was going to play really good tennis but it didn't happen. 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.”
A happy David Goffin commented on his win, “It's that kind of night that I will remember for sure - against Carlos and in a stadium like that.” Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic won his first match in four on the ATP World Tour by defeating Australian Rinky Hijikata in the second round of the Miami Open 6-0, 7-6, despite having the backdrop of Professional Tennis Players' Association (PTPA), co-founded by him, filing a lawsuit against tennis’ governing bodies including ATP.
