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The British tennis star earned the most important victory of his career by rallying from a early deficit to defeat world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz with a stunning comeback in the early stage of the Paris Masters.

While he had earlier beaten Alcaraz on two separate matches, this victory marks Norrie's first ever win over a reigning world No 1.

"Massive. Extremely important for me," stated Norrie, who is now the fifth English competitor in the record books to defeat a world No 1. "Returning from health issues last year, I fell in the initial match of qualies here. I just sought to embrace my tennis in the second half of the year. To get a win like this, it's the greatest success of my career, my maiden triumph over the top player and arguably the strongest competitor in the tennis scene right now."

The British player, seeded No 31, also stopped Alcaraz's impressive sequence of nine straight final appearances and 17 straight premier event successes, which was the top run of results in the Spaniard's developing professional path.

Match Breakdown

The top seed seemed to be advancing smoothly to a win at the start as he cruised in the opening set. Yet, Norrie slowly battled back into the match by delivering with improved accuracy and pulling the Spanish opponent into extended, demanding exchanges. His relentless steadiness and dependability gradually took its toll.

For much of the contest, the world number one delivered strong serves but he found it challenging to locate his rhythm off his groundstrokes. The rising talent appeared especially struggling hitting his forehand, which has been the best shot in the world for much of this year, committing 29 forehand unforced errors and a combined of 54 errors. Opposing him, Norrie gave his opponent minimal unforced errors, keeping up his consistency, fitness and power throughout while performing well on serve and picking his spots to move inside the baseline and attack well.

Closing Phase

In the tight closing stages, Norrie superbly maintained his composure to overcome the world's finest in the world.

Personal Background

Following struggling for an extended period due to a serious physical setback and struggles with his performance, the tennis professional slipped as far down as 91st in the rankings this season. After making the last eight at the grass-court major and the Roland Garros second week subsequently, this victory reinforces the veteran's development as he attempts to make his way to the elite rankings and even higher. Alcaraz, in spite of his extraordinary achievements, is yet to master how to display his finest performance on indoor courts.