Cameron Norrie beats Carlos Alcaraz in Paris, ending Spaniard’s 17-match 1,000-match winning streak at Masters | ATP Tour
match report
Nori defeats Alcaraz in Paris, ending Espanyol’s 17-game 1,000-match winning streak at the Masters
The British southpaw, who lost in the first round of qualifying last year, beat the world No. 1 for the first time
October 28, 2025
Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
Cameron Norrie has reached the last 16 of the ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time since Rome 2023.
Written by ATP Staff
Cameron Norrie earned his first win against the world number one at the Rolex Paris Masters on Tuesday, defeating under-par Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the third round in the French capital.
Alcaraz was competing for the first time since winning a tour-leading eighth title of the season in Tokyo in late September, but he was far from his best heading into his eighth Lexus ATP head-to-head match against Norrie (Alcaraz won 5-3). The top seed committed 54 unforced errors and struggled with his timing and footwork for long stretches.
Despite winning the first set, Alcaraz was looking for a level he never reached, and after dropping the second set, he had a heated chat with coach Juan Carlos Ferrero on the sidelines. The loss ended Alcaraz’s 17-match winning streak at ATP Masters 1000 events, which dates back to March in Miami when he also fell in his opening match. The Spaniard lifted the trophy in Monte Carlo, Rome and Cincinnati.
“It’s huge, it means so much to me,” Norrie said of what the win meant to him. “I’ve come back from an injury. Last year, I lost the first qualifying round here. I just wanted to enjoy my tennis in the second half and for me to be able to do that and get a win like this, it’s the biggest win of my career and it’s my first win against a world No. 1, especially against the most confident player in the world right now, combined with Sinner. I’m really happy with my performance. I had a lot of opportunities and have to keep working hard and strive for more and I was able to stay strong and get the win, so I’m really happy.”
Alcaraz could lose his top spot in the PIF ATP Rankings this week after losing his eighth match of the season. If Janik Sinner wins in Paris, he will return to world No. 1 for the first time since the U.S. Open.
However, Alcaraz is still in a strong position in the battle for the ATP year-end No. 1 honor awarded by PIF. He currently leads the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, a key metric for year-end rankings, by 2,040 points.
Norrie’s upset win was his first win over the world number one in his fifth attempt. The British left-hander reached the last 16 of a Masters 1000 event for the first time since Rome 2023 and equaled his best result in Paris (third round in 2021). The 30-year-old, who won his only Masters 1,000 title in 2021 at Indian Wells, raised his fist in the air after sealing victory on the second match point before turning to his box to celebrate.
“I played very, very well in the first set. I thought it was close. He just took his chances and I didn’t,” Norrie said. “I want to keep working hard, and honestly, it’s a conditioning game. I’ve been doing some workouts with my strength and conditioning coach, Vasek, and I told my team, this is going to be tougher than Vasek’s conditioning, and he makes it tough. So I think I feel comfortable with that, and I just want to keep pushing him, and I see him talking to his team a lot, and that gives me some confidence.”
Make a statement 🤯@cam_norrie 4-6 6-3 6-4 eliminated world number one Alcaraz!@rolexpmasters | #rolexparismasters pic.twitter.com/R28kehiaV4
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 28, 2025
While Alcaraz is known for being one of the best shooters in the game, Norrie stole the show, completing a backhand flick pass on his fourth point of the game.
The decisive moment came at 2-2 in the first set as both players looked to push forward and dominate the match. Norrie double faulted in the draw, opening the door for Alcaraz, who then converted his first break point by hitting a forehand crosscourt into the Englishman’s backhand. After winning the first set, Alcaraz struggled in the second set. The Spaniard couldn’t find any rhythm in the baseline exchanges and couldn’t deal with the British left-hander’s powerful topspin forehand, and Norrie forced a decider.
The Spaniard spoke to Ferrero before the third set and both seemed to express their thoughts on the performance. Alcaraz mistimed the match in the third set and lost his serve in the seventh on a backhand pass from Norrie. Under pressure, Nouri saved two break points in the next game and mustered up the courage to claim victory after 2 hours and 22 minutes, according to ATP Infosys Stats.
“That 4-3 match was crucial,” said Noori, ranked 31st in the world. “I saved a couple break points there and then when I went to prepare for the match, I took a walk with my coach this morning and we talked about the serve in the match and what I needed to tell myself because I was serving very, very tight yesterday against Bez. My serve was 0/40 but it worked. I told myself I should be in this moment and want to be here, so I felt very relaxed about it and it was a good walk and a very important walk in the match.”
Nouri will next face wild card players Valentin Vacherot or Arthur Rinderknech, who are cousins. Vaccello capped off his fairy-tale run by defeating Lindeknech at this month’s Rolex Shanghai Masters, capping a Hollywood tale. Vaccello, ranked 204th in the world at the time, became the lowest-ranked ATP Masters 1000 winner in history (since 1990).
did you know?
Norrie is only the third player in tournament history to defeat a top seed in the first round in Paris. Julien Benneteau beat Roger Federer in 2009 and Marc Rosset beat Pete Sampras in 1996.
