Norrie Stuns Alcaraz in Paris

Cameron Norrie took advantage of a below par Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday evening in La Defence Arena, the British earning his first ever win over a reigning world No.1 with a 4-6 6-3 6-4 victory.

Alcaraz never got comfortable in the conditions, and poured in 54 unforced errors in the loss, which took 2:22.

Alcaraz was broken five times in the loss, and afterwards talked about his difficulties.

“I just I didn’t feel well today,” he admitted. “A lot of mistakes. Not feeling — I had not feeling at all. I think Norrie played really great tennis today, as well. Solid match. And I think that was the key.”

“Massive,” said Norrie “I lost first round qualies here last year. To get a win like this – the biggest win of my career, my first win over a world No.1 – I was just so pleased with the way I did it. I was able to stay tough and get the win.”

Norrie earns his third career win against Alcaraz in eight battles. Remarkably, he has won three of their last five matches.

“There are no secrets,” he said of his success against the six-time major champion. “I think to beat him I had to play really well for over two hours, more than that. Yeah, I had to keep pushing him. I had to keep the intensity high. I had to keep playing every game. I didn’t want to take one point off. I didn’t want to let him breathe at all today.

“I had to stay calm, and I had to be not afraid to win. I think that was important. 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, and I was able to stay calm and relaxed.”

For Alcaraz, his difficulties continue at the Rolex Paris Masters, where he has never been beyond the quarterfinals and owns a 5-5 lifetime record.

“I don’t know,” he said. “It is a tournament that, yeah, it’s really difficult for me to play well, but I will figure it out, and I will ended up playing great tennis here, for sure.”

Alcaraz fails to reach the final at an event for the first time since Miami, and drops to 67-8 on the season.

The Spaniard also sees his 17-match winning streak at the Masters 1000 events snapped.

Norrie will face the Vacherot – Rinderknech in the third round in Paris.

More to follow…