Landaluce, who came through qualifying, saved a match point in his 2-6, 7-6(6), 6-4 victory over home player Sebastian Korda on 24/3. Korda had previously defeated world number one Carlos Alcaraz in the round prior.

Arriving in Miami without an ATP Tour win in 2026, Landaluce now boasts four consecutive main draw victories, in addition to two in Miami qualifying. At world number 151, he is the lowest-ranked player to reach the tournament's quarter-finals since Jim Grabb (number 185) achieved the same feat in 1994. He is also the first player born in 2006 or later to advance to a Masters 1000 quarter-final.

Landaluce celebrates his victory over Korda in the fourth round of the Miami Open, at Grandstand court, Miami, Florida, US on 24/3. *Photo: Reuters*

Following his win against Korda, Landaluce climbed 48 spots to world number 103 in the ATP rankings. In the quarter-finals, he will face Jiri Lehecka, who just defeated world number 7 Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-7, 6-2.

"When asked what I thought after the win, the answer was my grandmother", Landaluce said after his victory over Korda. "She would have turned 101 last week, but she passed away a few months ago. I want to dedicate this win to her".

Korda entered the match with high confidence after eliminating Alcaraz in the previous round, but the momentum shifted at the end of the second set. Facing a match point at 5-6 in the tie-break, Landaluce aggressively attacked, hitting a backhand winner.

"I had to hit a great shot, and I hit a winner", Landaluce said about that moment. "It felt incredible to do that. All Spanish players have that fighting spirit, from Ferrero, Ferrer, Nadal to Alcaraz... I've watched them throughout my career, and when I was in that situation, I had to try".

Subsequently, Landaluce won two more consecutive points and celebrated emotionally, winning the tie-break 8-6, leveling the match one-one. Landaluce carried that energy into the deciding set, leading 3-0 but being leveled at 3-3. After a few stagnant games, he regained control to close out the match after 2 hours and 27 minutes.

Korda, who required medical attention twice for lower back issues in the third set, could not stop his opponent's momentum. Now on a six-match winning streak in Miami (including qualifying), Landaluce is guaranteed to achieve a career-high ranking when the rankings are updated next monday.

The Spanish player, who trained at the Rafa Nadal Academy, is developing as expected, having qualified for the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia last year.

"This means a lot", Landaluce said about his journey in Miami. "I've played very well this week. I knew I had to perform, because there are so many great players even from qualifying. I'm really happy to be competing here against top-level opponents".

Landaluce first gained attention by winning the US Open juniors in 2022 at age 16 and has claimed Challenger titles in 2024 and 2025. Before the Miami Open, he only had two ATP-level victories. On this run, he has defeated Marcos Giron and two top 20 players, Luciano Darderi and Karen Khachanov.

Vy Anh