Paris Masters: Classy Cameron Norrie stuns error-strewn Carlos Alcaraz in landmark ATP 1000 victory

Great Britain's Cameron Norrie broke new ground at the age of 30 as the former British number one shocked world number one Carlos Alcaraz in the second round of the Paris Masters.

The 2022 Wimbledon semi-finalist remarkably fought back from a set down to overcome the top seed 4-6 6-3 6-4 in the French capital, ending Alcaraz's astonishing sequence of reaching nine consecutive finals.

The world number one had not failed to reach a Championship match in any tournament since March's Miami Masters, advancing to finals in Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, Roland-Garros, Queen's, Wimbledon, Cincinnati, New York and Tokyo before the current ATP 1000 tournament.

However, Alcaraz was his own worst enemy in an error-strewn performance, as he became just the third top seed to lose his opening Paris Masters match after Pete Sampras in 1996 and Roger Federer in 2009.

Meanwhile, Norrie has beaten a world number one for the first time in his career, and the 30-year-old is the second-oldest player to defeat the world number one at the Paris Masters after a 31-year-old David Ferrer bested Rafael Nadal in 2013.

"Massive, so big for me," Norrie told Sky Sports. "Coming back with my injury last year, I lost first round qualis. To get a win like this, the biggest win of my career against the most confident player in the world right now, I was so pleased with the way I did it," Norrie said.

"I played a really, really good first set, he just took his chance and I didn't. It was such a physical match, I was telling my team this is even tougher than my conditioning sessions! I felt quite comfortable and just wanted to keep pushing him."

How Cameron Norrie upset Carlos Alcaraz to claim milestone Paris Masters victory

What a win for Cam Norrie! ?

He beats World number 1, Carlos Alcaraz in Paris! ? pic.twitter.com/qfR3KJBodC

— Sky Sports Tennis (@SkySportsTennis) October 28, 2025

Unfancied against the well-rested Alcaraz - who won the Tokyo Open trophy despite hurting his ankle in his opening match - Norrie had only claimed one victory over a top-10 opponent since the start of the 2024 season.

The Briton failed to respond after Alcaraz broke his serve in the fifth game of the first set, but as the Spaniard began to clock up the uncharacteristic mistakes, a composed Norrie capitalised, surging into a 4-1 second-set lead and refusing to look back.

Alcaraz beat away three break points in the early stages of the decider, but the top seed's resistance was eventually broken in the seventh game, and he spurned two chances to respond immediately at 40-15 in the next game.

One match point came and went for Norrie, who agonisingly witnessed a shot clip the net cord twice and land back on his side, but he made no mistake on his second to send the world number one packing.

Despite registering 33 winners to Norrie's 18, Alcaraz amassed an astounding 54 unforced errors to the Briton's 25 and was the architect of his own downfall from the off.

Alcaraz's early exit means that Jannik Sinner will reclaim the world number one ranking should he win the tournament, while Norrie will meet either Arthur Rinderknech or Valentin Vacherot in the third round.