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Cameron Norrie achieved the biggest win of his career by rallying from a set down to beat top-ranked player Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the Paris Masters.

While he had before beaten Alcaraz on two prior meetings, this win marks Norrie's first ever win over a sitting world No 1.

"Massive. Incredibly significant for me," said Norrie, who becomes the latest English competitor in history to beat a global number one. "Coming back from injury last year, I fell in the opening stage of qualifiers here. I just tried to embrace my game in the second half of the year. To achieve a triumph like this, it's the greatest win of my tennis journey, my maiden triumph over the world No 1 and probably the strongest competitor in the world right now."

Norrie, positioned 31st in the world, also ended Alcaraz's dominant run of nine consecutive finals and 17 successive premier event wins, which was the top run of results in the Spaniard's young professional path.

Contest Breakdown

The top seed looked to be advancing smoothly towards victory early on as he sailed in the opening set. Yet, the British contender slowly battled back into contention by executing with improved accuracy and engaging the Spaniard into prolonged, physical exchanges. His persistent steadiness and consistency slowly made an impact.

During large parts of the match, the world number one served well but he had difficulty to get his timing right on his baseline shots. The rising talent looked particularly struggling striking his primary weapon, which has been the best shot in the world for most of this season, committing 29 forehand miscues and a overall of 54 unforced errors. On the other side, the British player offered his opponent minimal unforced errors, sustaining his reliability, physicality and power throughout while performing well on serve and selecting opportunities to force himself into the court and attack well.

Final Moments

In the nail-biting last moments, Norrie brilliantly maintained his composure to close out the world's finest in the sport.

Professional Context

Following struggling for months due to a serious arm issue and struggles with his game, the tennis professional fell as far down as 91st globally this year. Having reached the advanced stages at Wimbledon and the clay-court Grand Slam second week after that, this triumph further underlines the experienced player's improvement as he seeks to come back to the world's top twenty and beyond. The Spanish sensation, in spite of his extraordinary achievements, is yet to figure out how to deliver his top form in indoor conditions.