Carlos Alcaraz’s Miami Open campaign ended at the hands of 32nd seed Sebastian Korda. Back-to-back defeats at Indian Wells and in Miami Gardens, first to Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals and now to Korda, have raised questions about the form of the seven-time Grand Slam champion. Patrick Mouratoglou, the former coach of Serena Williams, who guided her to ten Grand Slam titles, offered a diagnosis of Alcaraz’s troubling trend at the Sunshine Double.

“My feeling is that Alcaraz is bored. The guy already has seven Grand Slams, and I feel like playing Masters 1,000; he won so many already, he’s not that interested. That’s really a feeling that I have. I also feel that will be the danger for him in the next few years,” Mouratoglou said.

The 55-year-old French coach did not just identify the problem but also explained the psychological mechanism behind it. He suggested that the Spaniard has reached a level of complacency that is not conscious and is therefore harder to fix.

“A lot of people say that, ‘Oh, this year in Roland Garros or Wimbledon or the US Open, he doesn’t play well in the first rounds.’ Yeah, he doesn’t play well because he’s bored. He has so much margin. When the match is too easy, he’s losing his focus because deep inside he knows he can break back anytime. So maybe it’s not conscious; he doesn’t think, ‘Oh, I don’t care.’ But it’s accepting to be broken, accepting to lose his focus. So that’s the danger for him,” he added.

Alcaraz has been wanting to claim his first Miami title since 2022, and after seeing off Joao Fonseca in the early rounds, many fans thought he’d cruise through the draw. But as fate would have it, he was knocked out by Sebastian Korda in the third round, losing 3-6, 7-5, 4-6. In a three-set battle that lasted 2 hours and 19 minutes, Korda fired 12 aces and 38 winners. At No. 36, he became the lowest-ranked man to beat Alcaraz since No. 55 David Goffin accomplished the feat in the second round in Miami last year.

After starting the season with a perfect 16-0 record, he has now lost two of his last three matches. Interestingly, it wasn’t just the loss that caught people’s attention. It was how frustrated he looked during the match. It seemed like every point Korda won left him more agitated.

Then there was the match against Daniil Medvedev, who handed Alcaraz his first loss of the year and advanced to the final at Indian Wells with a 6-3, 7-6 (3) victory in an hour and 37 minutes. The Spaniard played below his best, spraying too many forehand errors and dropping the pivotal points to suffer an outdoor hard-court defeat.

At the age of 22, Alcaraz is already on the list of all-time Masters 1000 champions. Till now, he has won eight Masters titles, tied with Thomas Muster. If he wants to top this list, he will have to break the record of Novak Djokovic, who is sitting at 40 titles. The Spaniard has won almost every Masters 1000 title except three, which are the Canadian Masters, Shanghai Masters, and Paris Masters. 

Additionally, the gap in the ranking points is narrowing between him and Jannik Sinner. The current difference is around 2000 points, but Sinner has an opportunity to earn 1000 more points at Miami. He will have an opportunity to gain a significant lead at the clay court swing and maintain his coveted world No. 1 spot.

Alcaraz will be competing at the Monte-Carlo Masters at the start of next month, defending his title. He will look to put this run behind him and focus on the clay court season ahead of him.

Carlos Alcaraz sets his sights on the clay season

Instead of focusing on the loss in Miami, Carlos Alcaraz clarified that he is also expecting a short rest before the clay swing.

“Probably I am going to go back home, which I am looking forward to. Stay chilling with my family, with my friends, for a couple of days. I don’t know how much my team is going to allow me to have a rest and a day off,” Alcaraz said after the loss at the Miami Open.

The world No. 1 was candid about where his mind is heading next, with the red clay of Europe now firmly in his sights.

“All of a sudden, I just [have to get] back on track, go back on the court. The clay season is around the corner. I have really good tournaments that I am just excited about playing there. My mind right now is to take some days off, to reset my mind, reset the batteries, and be ready in good shape for the clay season,” he added.

It is an ironic comparison: a player whom Mouratoglou believes turns off when he is not challenged enough, is showing the determination to be ready for his strongest surface. Alcaraz is unstoppable on the red dirt, having won the last two Roland Garros titles and four clay Masters titles, two of which came last year. His 2025 French Open title was one for the history books, as he staged one of the greatest comebacks in the sport against Jannik Sinner in the final, saving three match points.

With significant ranking points to defend across the clay swing, there will be no shortage of pressure to keep him sharp. Whether that is enough to silence the boredom theory, only the next few months will tell.