(Reuters) -Britain’s Cameron Norrie stunned world number one Carlos Alcaraz 4-6 6-3 6-4 on Tuesday to reach the third round of the Paris Masters and end the Spaniard’s 17-match winning streak at ATP Masters 1000 level.
Fresh from claiming his eighth title of the season in Tokyo, six-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz was off his game, racking up 54 unforced errors and venting his frustration in terse exchanges with coach Juan Carlos Ferrero.
After winning the first set, Alcaraz failed to maintain momentum, while Norrie steadily grew in confidence, with the world number 31 saving two break points in the seventh game of the final set, and holding serve to clinch the match after two hours and 22 minutes.
“Massive (victory), so big for me,” Norrie said. “I have been coming back from my injury. Last year, I lost first round of qualies here.
“I have just tried to enjoy my tennis in the second half of the year and I was able to do that and to get a win like this, the biggest of my career, my first over a world number one and especially against the most confident player in the world right now.”
Alcaraz’s defeat was the first time he had lost before a final since March, halting a dominant Masters 1000 run stretching back to the Miami Open, during which he captured titles in Monte Carlo, Rome, and Cincinnati.
The win propelled Norrie into the last 16 at a Masters event for the first time since 2023 in Rome while he has matched his best previous showing in Paris from 2021.
Alcaraz risks losing the year-end world number one spot if Italy’s Jannik Sinner captures the Paris title this week.
Norrie will next face Valentin Vacherot or Arthur Rinderknech, who play on Wednesday in a rematch of the Shanghai Masters final.
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico CityEditing by Toby Davis)
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