David Goffin rolled back the years to dump Carlos Alcaraz out of the Miami Open on Friday, then said he could not have wished for a better ending to the match.

The 34-year-old fought back to record a 5-7 6-4 6-3 victory over Alcaraz in the Spaniard's first match at this year's Florida event, teeing up a third-round meeting with Brandon Nakashima. 

Goffin went a break up in the first set and let that advantage slide, but he was not to be denied in sets two and three.

A total of 42 unforced errors hampered Alcaraz, with Goffin committing only 26 as he used all his experience to repeatedly leave the Spaniard stranded at the net.

The Belgian saved one of his best points for last, wearing Alcaraz down with a series of pinpoint groundstrokes on match point, until the four-time grand slam champion hit a tired forehand into the net.

"It feels amazing. "Sometimes some matches are tough and you have to fight, like the first round, and you're happy to have a second round like that in a stadium," said Goffin, who edged out Aleksandar Vukic in three sets in round one.

"That's why I continue to play tennis, to have that kind of match in a stadium, to play some good tennis.

"I was just trying to enjoy the moment. I felt that physically, I was ready to fight, and then I was feeling the ball really well.

"It's the kind of night where you feel great, and you're happy to fight. You enjoy every point, and it's a perfect end with a great match point. It was amazing."

2 - After defeating Alexander Zverev in Shanghai, David Goffin has claimed consecutive ATP top five wins for only the second time in his career after the ATP Finals in 2017 - Dominic Thiem, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer. Boilover.#MiamiOpen | @MiamiOpen @atptour @ATPMediaInfo pic.twitter.com/UdkNTxyvg0

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) March 22, 2025

Data Debrief: Goffin the upset king

Goffin made Alcaraz pay for his error-strewn performance, dealing the Spaniard a second successive defeat after he lost to Jack Draper in the Indian Wells semi-finals last week.

The Belgian also beat Alexander Zverev at the Shanghai Masters last October, meaning he has consecutive top-five victories for only the second time in his career.

He last did so at the ATP Finals in 2017, beating Dominic Thiem, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, before finishing as runner-up to Grigor Dimitrov.