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The British tennis star achieved the most notable win of his career by rebounding from a set down 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 defeated Alcaraz on two separate matches, this win signifies Norrie's first ever win over a reigning world top-ranked player.

"Massive. Incredibly significant for me," commented Norrie, who becomes the fifth British man in history to beat a world No 1. "Bouncing back from a physical setback last year, I fell in the opening stage of qualifiers here. I just tried to enjoy my performance in the latter part of the year. To get a win like this, it's the biggest victory of my professional life, my maiden triumph over the global number one and likely the strongest athlete in the tennis scene right now."

The British player, positioned 31st globally, also halted Alcaraz's supreme run of nine finals in a row and 17 straight premier event successes, which was the top run of performances in the Spanish star's early professional path.

Match Overview

The top seed looked to be moving confidently to a win early on as he cruised in the first set. However, Norrie steadily worked himself into contention by serving with greater precision and pulling the Spaniard into lengthy, grueling rallies. His unceasing steadiness and reliability slowly left its mark.

During large parts of the battle, the world number one performed well on serve but he found it challenging to find his timing on his baseline shots. The 22-year-old appeared notably uncomfortable hitting his primary weapon, which has been the most effective stroke in the sport for much of this year, producing 29 forehand unforced errors and a total of 54 unforced errors. Opposing him, Norrie gave Alcaraz minimal unforced errors, sustaining his reliability, fitness and power the entire contest while performing well on serve and picking his spots to move into the court and play aggressively.

Closing Stages

In the tense last moments, Norrie expertly kept his calm to defeat the world's finest in the world.

Career Journey

Following struggling for months due to a major physical setback and struggles with his game, the tennis professional fell as low as No 91 this season. Having reached the advanced stages at the grass-court major and the clay-court Grand Slam second week after that, this triumph further underlines the experienced player's progress as he seeks to come back to the world's top twenty and even higher. The Spanish sensation, despite his incredible success, is yet to solve how to produce his top form in indoor conditions.