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The British tennis star achieved the most notable victory of his career by rebounding from a set down to beat world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz in three hard-fought sets in the early stage of the Paris Masters.

Even though he had before beaten Alcaraz on two separate matches, this win represents Norrie's first ever success over a sitting world No 1.

"Enormous. Extremely important for me," stated Norrie, who joins as the newest English competitor in the record books to beat a top-ranked player. "Bouncing back from a physical setback last year, I lost in the initial match of qualifiers here. I just tried to enjoy my performance in the latter part of the year. To get a triumph like this, it's the greatest victory of my career, my maiden triumph over the global number one and arguably the most in-form competitor in the sport right now."

The British player, ranked No 31, also halted Alcaraz's impressive sequence of nine finals in a row and 17 straight premier event wins, which marked the best series of results in the Spaniard's young professional path.

Game Analysis

Alcaraz seemed to be progressing easily towards victory at the start as he sailed past the first set. Yet, Norrie slowly worked himself into the match by serving with sharper placement and pulling the Spaniard into prolonged, grueling rallies. His relentless shot tolerance and dependability gradually made an impact.

During large parts of the contest, the world number one delivered strong serves but he found it challenging to get his timing right off his groundstrokes. The young star looked especially uncomfortable executing his signature shot, which has been the most effective stroke in the game for much of this season, haemorrhaging 29 mistakes off the forehand side and a overall of 54 mistakes. On the other side, the British player offered Alcaraz minimal unforced errors, sustaining his consistency, physicality and depth all match while performing well on serve and choosing his moments to advance inside the baseline and strike effectively.

Decisive Stages

In the nail-biting closing stages, Norrie expertly kept his composure to overcome the world's finest in the sport.

Career Journey

After struggling for months due to a serious left forearm injury and challenges with his performance, Norrie slipped as far down as 91st globally this season. After making the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the French Open second week subsequently, this victory further underlines the 30-year-old's progress as he aims to come back to the elite rankings and even higher. The Spanish sensation, despite his incredible achievements, is yet to figure out how to display his best tennis indoors.