Not Djokovic, Nadal or Federer: Alcaraz creates history at Miami Open

Another record tumbled Tuesday night when Carlos Alcaraz defeated Lorenzo Musetti at the Miami Open fourth round to set up a quarter-final clash with Grigor Dimitrov.

The World No. 2 and No. 1 seed in Miami dropped just six games in a convincing 6-3, 6-3 victory over the No. 23 seed, hitting 23 winners and extending his head-to-head lead over Musetti to 3-1, having lost the pair’s first match-up in the 2022 Hamburg final.

Tuesday’s victory extends Alcaraz’s competitive winning streak to nine, with the Spanish sensation triumphing at Indian Wells just over a week ago.

The 2022 champion in Florida was pleased with his performance and feels he is over the ankle injury that threatened to hinder him going into Indian Wells.

"I don't know if this is the best game that I'm playing, but without a doubt, it's the best feeling," Alcaraz said court-side after his win. "I'm feeling great on the court. I'm moving great, not injured or thinking about the ankle [injury] anymore. I think [this is] the best feeling since last summer.”

Tuesday’s triumph also saw the prodigiously talented 20-year-old match existing feats and set new ones, with the latter seeing him outdo the vaunted Big Three: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

According to Opta, Alcaraz, on Tuesday, became the youngest player — 20y 326d — to reach the quarter-finals at Indian Wells and Miami in three consecutive years since the Florida event began in 1985, further demonstrating the talented player’s ability and consistency as it was not done so quickly into the careers of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.

Beating Musetti saw Alcaraz reach his 12th ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final before his 21st birthday, surpassing Djokovic's 11 and falling just short of Nadal's 15.

The No. 1 seed in Florida takes on Dimitrov for a place in the semi-finals as he continues his bid for a Sunshine Double — winning at Indian Wells and in Miami in the same year — which has not been achieved since Roger Federer won both in 2017.