Cameron Norrie produced one of the upsets of the Paris Masters on Tuesday, beating world number one Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the third round.
The 31st-ranked Briton recovered from a set down to hand Alcaraz a disappointing early exit, ending the Spaniard’s hopes of finally conquering the French capital.
For Alcaraz, it was another frustrating chapter in Paris, where he has yet to lift the Masters trophy after five attempts.
Having returned from an ankle injury that kept him out of Shanghai, the 22-year-old admitted he “had no feeling at all” for the ball despite strong preparation in practice.
“Even in the first set that I won, I felt I could do much more,” Alcaraz said. “I didn’t feel well today. A lot of mistakes. I had no feeling at all.”
Norrie, however, capitalised on Alcaraz’s struggles with composed shot-making and fearless play, breaking decisively in the final set to seal victory.
“I told myself before the match, even if I get in a winning scenario, I’m not going to be afraid to win. I stayed true to that,” said Norrie, who described the result as “a special win.”
Alcaraz could now lose his world number one ranking if Italian rival Jannik Sinner wins the tournament.
Elsewhere, Daniil Medvedev advanced with a routine 6-1, 6-3 win over Jaume Munar, while Taylor Fritz saw off Aleksandar Vukic in straight sets.
Felix Auger-Aliassime came from behind to beat Francisco Comesana, and Ben Shelton cruised past Flavio Cobolli.
Teenage sensation Joao Fonseca continued his rise with a gritty three-set win over Denis Shapovalov, while Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot extended his dream run by defeating 14th seed Jiri Lehecka to set up a third-round clash with his cousin Arthur Rinderknech.
World number two Jannik Sinner will begin his campaig Wednesday against Belgium’s Zizou Bergs.
