By Mallory Mattingly
US Men’s tennis star Sebastian Korda leaned on one lesson he learned while reading his Bible to beat reigning World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz at the 2026 Miami Open.
“The aim was, there’s a lot of things, you know, I think the two main ones were the commitment and belief,” Korda said in post-match interview with the Tennis channel.
“I was reading my Bible this morning. You know, Mark 9:23: ‘All is possible with the one who believes.’ So, you know, that’s what I was thinking in my head, was the whole entire time, you know, even I was gonna control whatever I could control on my side, you know, I was gonna be positive.”
“I was reading my Bible this morning – Mark 9:23… All is possible with the one who believes. That’s what I was thinking in my head the whole entire time.”
– Sebastian Korda after upsetting World #1 Carlos Alcaraz at the Miami Open🎥: @TennisChannel
(HT @BrandonDeRousse) pic.twitter.com/bBPHr1dpe4Related: Tennis Champ Thanks God After Last U.S. Open Game
— Jon Root (@JonnyRoot_) March 23, 2026
Korda was the unanimous underdog of the match but ultimately beat Alcaraz with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 win.
“Believe. Thanks for the love Miami❤️🙏 ,” Korda shared on Instagram after he won.
After the match, he expressed his gratitude for the work he put in to get to that moment.
“It was a lot of tense moments, for sure. But I think today the ultimate thing was belief, going back to just believing, committing in every shot. Luckily I got it done at the end,” Korda said after the match, per Sportskeeda
Despite only landing 60% of his serves in the court, Alcaraz still provided a lot of excitement.
“There was a crosscourt backhand with his back against the wall, and a fancy lob off a drop return that sent Korda scrambling. And there was the near-death escape in the second set. Twice actually. A nasty kick serve to save a break point prevented him falling behind two service breaks. Then Alcaraz broke Korda at love when the American served for the match in the second set,” The New York Times reported.
When it looked like Korda would be done with the match, he turned it up to another level and began to fight even harder.
With the former No. 1 player in the world “playing a slightly sloppy game, his feet not floating the way they had for the past 10, Korda outlasted him in a crosscourt forehand battle,” which would set him up to take the match.
“He just made three mistakes in a row that he didn’t make it in the whole match. I just made the most of it,” Korda said, per the NY Times. “But on 5-4 in the third set, I think he just knew what he has to do. He just played with a lot of first serves, which it’s tough when he plays with a big first serve. It’s kind of he was in that moment before. He just dealt with that much, much better.”
What a powerful reminder to read the Bible, believe in God and simply focus on what you can control.
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