🔗 Share this article

The British tennis star secured the most notable win of his professional journey by coming back from a early deficit to defeat world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the Paris Masters.

Even though he had earlier defeated Alcaraz on two occasions, this triumph marks Norrie's first ever win over a sitting world top-ranked player.

"Enormous. Incredibly significant for me," commented Norrie, who is now the fifth British man in the record books to defeat a global number one. "Coming back from a physical setback last year, I fell in the opening stage of qualies here. I just sought to appreciate my performance in the closing months of the year. To secure a triumph like this, it's the most significant success of my career, my first win over the top player and probably the most confident player in the sport right now."

Norrie, seeded No 31, also halted Alcaraz's supreme streak of nine finals in a row and 17 successive elite tournament successes, which represented the best series of outcomes in the Spanish star's early professional path.

Match Analysis

The top seed seemed to be moving confidently towards victory in the beginning as he eased in the opening set. However, the British contender steadily worked himself into the match by executing with improved accuracy and dragging the Spanish opponent into prolonged, physical rallies. His relentless shot tolerance and reliability gradually made an impact.

Through most of the match, the world number one served well but he struggled badly to get his timing right on his baseline shots. The rising talent appeared particularly uncomfortable hitting his forehand, which has been the best shot in the game for much of this year, producing 29 mistakes off the forehand side and a combined of 54 unforced errors. Opposing him, the British player gave Alcaraz very few errors, keeping up his reliability, athleticism and depth throughout while performing well on serve and choosing his moments to move into the court and attack well.

Decisive Stages

In the tight last moments, the British competitor brilliantly held his nerve to close out the top competitor in the game.

Career Background

After struggling for a long time due to a serious left forearm injury and challenges with his game, the tennis professional slipped as far down as 91st globally this year. After making the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the French Open second week after that, this triumph further underlines the 30-year-old's improvement as he aims to return to the top 20 and beyond. Alcaraz, despite his remarkable achievements, is yet to master how to deliver his best tennis in indoor conditions.