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Cameron Norrie secured the biggest victory of his career by rallying from a early deficit to beat top-ranked player Carlos Alcaraz in three hard-fought sets in the second round of the Paris Masters.

Although he had earlier beaten Alcaraz on two occasions, this victory represents Norrie's first ever victory over a current world number one.

"Huge. So big for me," stated Norrie, who becomes the newest English competitor in history to overcome a global number one. "Bouncing back from a physical setback last year, I was defeated in the initial match of qualifiers here. I just sought to enjoy my game in the closing months of the year. To secure a triumph like this, it's the greatest victory of my professional life, my first win over the world No 1 and probably the most confident athlete in the world right now."

The British player, seeded 31st globally, also stopped Alcaraz's impressive sequence of nine straight final appearances and 17 successive Masters 1000 victories, which was the best series of performances in the Spaniard's young professional path.

Contest Analysis

Alcaraz appeared to be progressing easily towards victory at the start as he eased in the first set. Yet, Norrie slowly fought his way back into the game by delivering with sharper placement and dragging the Spanish opponent into lengthy, physical points. His unceasing consistency and dependability gradually took its toll.

During large parts of the contest, Alcaraz served well but he had difficulty to get his timing right off his groundstrokes. The 22-year-old looked especially uneasy hitting his forehand, which has been the best shot in the game for much of this year, committing 29 forehand miscues and a combined of 54 errors. Opposing him, Norrie presented Alcaraz very few errors, sustaining his consistency, physicality and power all match while serving efficiently and selecting opportunities to force himself inside the baseline and attack well.

Final Stages

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

Personal Journey

After battling for a long time due to a major physical setback and struggles with his performance, Norrie slipped as far down as 91st in the rankings this year. After making the advanced stages at Wimbledon and the Roland Garros fourth round after that, this victory further underlines the 30-year-old's progress as he seeks to make his way to the elite rankings and even higher. The Spanish sensation, in spite of his remarkable success, is has not yet solve how to deliver his finest performance indoors.