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The British tennis star earned the most important win of his career by coming back from a lost first set to beat top-ranked player Carlos Alcaraz in three hard-fought sets in the early stage of the Paris Masters.

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

"Enormous. Incredibly significant for me," said Norrie, who is now the latest UK male player in history to overcome a top-ranked player. "Coming back from a physical setback last year, I fell in the initial match of qualifying rounds here. I just tried to enjoy my tennis in the latter part of the year. To get a victory like this, it's the most significant victory of my tennis journey, my first win over the world No 1 and arguably the most confident player in the tennis scene right now."

The British player, positioned No 31, also halted Alcaraz's impressive sequence of nine consecutive finals and 17 consecutive elite tournament wins, which represented the best series of performances in the Spanish star's developing career.

Match Analysis

Alcaraz appeared to be progressing easily to success early on as he eased through the initial stanza. However, the British contender steadily worked himself into the match by serving with sharper placement and pulling the Spaniard into lengthy, physical rallies. His persistent shot tolerance and consistency gradually left its mark.

Through most of the contest, Alcaraz served well but he found it challenging to locate his rhythm off his groundstrokes. The 22-year-old seemed particularly struggling hitting his signature shot, which has been the best shot in the game for a large part of this season, committing 29 forehand unforced errors and a combined of 54 unforced errors. Opposing him, the British player presented his opponent very few errors, keeping up his consistency, physicality and depth throughout while performing well on serve and selecting opportunities to force himself inside the baseline and attack well.

Closing Phase

In the tight last moments, Norrie expertly kept his calm to defeat the world's finest in the world.

Professional Background

After dealing for a long time due to a significant left forearm injury and challenges with his performance, the tennis professional fell as far down as 91st in the rankings this season. After making the last eight at Wimbledon and the French Open second week after that, this win reinforces the veteran's improvement as he seeks to return to the elite rankings and further. Alcaraz, in spite of his extraordinary achievements, is still hasn't master how to display his best tennis in indoor conditions.