🔗 Share this article

The British tennis star earned the biggest win of his career by rallying from a lost first set to overcome world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the Paris Masters.

While he had earlier overcome Alcaraz on two prior meetings, this victory signifies Norrie's maiden victory over a reigning world No 1.

"Enormous. Incredibly significant for me," said Norrie, who joins as the newest UK male player in the record books to beat a world No 1. "Bouncing back from injury last year, I fell in the initial match of qualifiers here. I just aimed to appreciate my performance in the closing months of the year. To secure a win like this, it's the most significant win of my career, my initial victory over the global number one and probably the most in-form athlete in the tennis scene right now."

Norrie, ranked No 31, also ended Alcaraz's impressive streak of nine straight final appearances and 17 successive premier event successes, which was the top run of performances in the Spaniard's developing career.

Match Analysis

Alcaraz appeared to be progressing easily towards victory early on as he cruised past the first set. Nevertheless, Norrie steadily fought his way into the match by executing with improved accuracy and pulling the Spanish opponent into lengthy, physical points. His relentless shot tolerance and reliability steadily made an impact.

For much of the battle, Alcaraz served well but he had difficulty to get his timing right off his groundstrokes. The 22-year-old seemed particularly uneasy executing his signature shot, which has been the most effective stroke in the game for a large part of this year, haemorrhaging 29 forehand miscues and a total of 54 mistakes. Opposing him, Norrie gave his opponent so few mistakes, maintaining his consistency, physicality and depth all match while serving efficiently and picking his spots to advance forward and attack well.

Decisive Stages

In the nail-biting last moments, Norrie expertly held his calm to overcome the best player in the game.

Professional Journey

Following struggling for months due to a major left forearm injury and challenges with his form, Norrie slipped as low as 91st globally this year. After making the advanced stages at Wimbledon and the clay-court Grand Slam second week since then, this triumph reinforces the experienced player's progress as he attempts to come back to the top 20 and further. The Spanish sensation, notwithstanding his incredible achievements, is has not yet solve how to deliver his finest performance in indoor conditions.