For the first time in his last four tournaments, Carlos Alcaraz will not be named champion. The world No. 1 was ousted by a dialed-in Cameron Norrie in a topsy-turvy Rolex Paris Masters opener, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
The 22-year-old followed up a relatively routine opening set with an error-strewn performance. He racked up 19 unforced errors and struck just eight winners in the second set, with 31st-ranked Norrie gladly capitalizing on the opportunities. Alcaraz would hit 54 unforced errors in all.
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Great Britain’s second-highest ranked player, Norrie closed out the match emphatically, serving out the match to claim the biggest victory of his career over the world No. 1.
“Coming back with my injury, I lost first round of qualies here last year,” Norrie said in an on-court interview. “…To get a win like this—the biggest win of my career, my first win over a world No. 1… I’m so pleased with the way I did it… I was able to stay tough and get the win.”
The result snaps Alcaraz’s 17-match winning streak at the ATP Masters 1000 level—a run dating back to April, since his Monte Carlo second-rounder. He had also won his previous three tournaments—Cincinnati, the US Open and Tokyo, with Laver Cup in between.
