Cameron Norrie stunned Carlos Alcaraz in the second round of the Paris Masters to claim the best victory of his career.
Norrie became the first British man to beat the current World No 1 since Dan Evans defeated Novak Djokovic at the Monte Carlo Masters in 2021, coming from a set down to win 4-6 6-3 6-4 in two hours and 22 minutes.
The 30-year-old, who fought off two break points from Alcaraz late in the final set, handed the Spaniard has earliest defeat at a tournament since the Miami Open in March – with the six-time grand slam champion on a 17-match winning run at the Masters level since then.
Alcaraz had reached the final of every tournament he had played since his defeat to David Goffin in Miami and looked to be on his way to victory when he converted the only break midway through the first set to take the lead.
But Norrie raced into a 4-1 lead at the start of the second, serving out the final game to love to level the match. In the decider, Norrie again secured the only break in the seventh game to lead 4-3.
Norrie faced two break points in the next game but a visibly frustrated Alcaraz could not take them. Norrie, who lost to Alcaraz in their last meeting in the Wimbledon quarter-final but had beaten the Spaniard on two previous occasions, managed to serve out victory and called the result “massive”.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, lost for just the eighth time this season. His defeat means Jannik Sinner can reclaim the No 1 ranking for the first time since the US Open final if he goes all the way and wins the title in Paris this week.
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