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
British southpaw wins first time against world No.1
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 made 19 unforced errors in the second set 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.
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.
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 won his only Masters 1,000 title in 2021 at Indian Wells.
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, Norrie saved two break points in the next game and mustered up the courage to win after 2 hours and 23 minutes.
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.
