Cameron Norrie hails ‘biggest victory’ after roaring to beat Carlos Alcaraz in Paris

Cameron Norrie recorded the biggest victory of his career as he recovered from a set down to topple world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the Paris Masters.

Although he has defeated Alcaraz twice before, Norrie’s triumph marks his first ever victory over a reigning No. 1.

“Huge. So big for me,” said Norrie, who becomes the fifth British man in history to beat a world No. 1. “When I came back from injury last year, I lost here in the first qualifying round. I just tried to enjoy my tennis in the second half of the year. To get a win like that, it’s the biggest win of my career, my first win over the world No. 1 and probably the most confident player in the world right now.”

Norrie, number 31, also ended Alcaraz’s run of nine consecutive finals and seventeen consecutive Masters 1000 victories, the best run of results in the Spaniard’s young career.

He looked confident early on on his way to victory as he powered through the opening set against the British No.2. However, Norrie gradually worked his way into the match, serving with greater precision and dragging the Spaniard into lengthy, physical rallies. His ruthless shot tolerance and consistency gradually made their mark.

Alcaraz served well for much of the match, but he struggled to find his timing based on his basic strokes. The 22-year-old looked particularly uncomfortable hitting his forehand, the best shot in the world for much of this year, with 29 unforced forehand errors and a total of 54 unforced errors. On the other side of the net, Norrie Alcaraz offered so few mistakes, maintaining his consistency, physicality and depth, while serving efficiently and choosing his moments to force himself inside the baseline and attack well.

In the tense final games, Norrie brilliantly kept his composure to shut down the best player in the world.

After struggling for months due to a significant left forearm injury and difficulty with his form, Norrie fell to No. 91 this year. Having since reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the fourth round of the French Open, this victory further underlines the 30-year-old’s progress as he attempts to return to the top 20 and beyond. Despite his incredible success, Alcaraz has yet to figure out how to produce his best tennis indoors.