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Cameron Norrie achieved the most notable victory of his career by coming back from a set down to defeat world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz with a stunning comeback in the second round of the Paris Masters.

Even though he had before beaten Alcaraz on two separate matches, this triumph represents Norrie's maiden win over a reigning world No 1.

"Massive. Extremely important for me," stated Norrie, who joins as the latest British man in the record books to beat a world No 1. "Coming back from injury last year, I lost in the initial match of qualies here. I just tried to embrace my performance in the latter part of the year. To get a triumph like this, it's the greatest success of my tennis journey, my initial victory over the world No 1 and likely the strongest athlete in the world right now."

The British player, ranked 31st in the world, also halted Alcaraz's impressive sequence of nine finals in a row and 17 consecutive Masters 1000 wins, which marked the finest stretch of performances in the young champion's young career.

Contest Breakdown

The top seed looked to be advancing smoothly to a win in the beginning as he eased past the opening set. Nevertheless, Norrie steadily worked himself into contention by serving with greater precision and pulling the Spaniard into extended, grueling points. His unceasing shot tolerance and reliability steadily left its mark.

During large parts of the battle, Alcaraz performed well on serve but he found it challenging to find his timing on his baseline shots. The 22-year-old seemed particularly struggling hitting his signature shot, which has been the best shot in the world for much of this season, committing 29 forehand miscues and a combined of 54 errors. On the other side, Norrie presented his opponent very few errors, maintaining his steadiness, physicality and penetration all match while performing well on serve and choosing his moments to move inside the baseline and play aggressively.

Closing Stages

In the tight closing stages, the British competitor superbly held his composure to close out the top competitor in the world.

Personal Context

Following dealing for a long time due to a serious arm issue and difficulties with his performance, the tennis professional dropped as far down as 91st in the rankings this year. Following appearances in the quarter-finals at the grass-court major and the French Open round of 16 after that, this triumph further underlines the experienced player's development as he seeks to make his way to the world's top twenty and further. The Spanish sensation, despite his incredible accomplishments, is has not yet figure out how to deliver his best tennis indoors.