Paris Masters: Carlos Alcaraz Stunned By Cameron Norrie As Spaniard Makes Early Exit

Carlos Alcaraz was stunned by Cameron Norrie in the second round of the Paris Masters on Tuesday.

The world number one headed into the ATP-1000 event off the back of titles at the Cincinnati Masters, US Open and Japan Open, before withdrawing from the Shanghai Masters due to an injury concern.

But top seed Alcaraz was brought crashing back down to earth by Norrie, who avenged his defeat four months ago in the Wimbledon quarter-finals with a 4-6 6-3 6-4 victory under the lights of La Defense Arena.

It appeared business as usual for one of the sport's leading stars in his first match at the tournament, as Alcaraz broke in the opener to take a 3-2 lead before converting his third set point to claim an early advantage.

Norrie came out flying in the following set, however, surging into a 3-1 lead by breaking Alcaraz's second service game and holding his nerve with the ball in hand.

The former world number eight did not take his foot off the throttle after teeing up a decider, battling to break and take a 4-3 lead before needing just two match points to dump out Alcaraz in Paris.

Earlier on Tuesday, Daniil Medvedev – who reached the last four in Shanghai earlier this month and then won the title in Almaty – earned his first victory at the Paris Masters since 2021.

The 11th seed, who had not won at this event since reaching the final four years ago, overcame world number 36 Jaume Munar 6-1 6-3 to set up a meeting with Grigor Dimitrov.

Ben Shelton also recorded a straight-sets victory over Flavio Cobolli as the fifth seed claimed a 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 victory in just over 90 minutes, setting up a clash with Andrey Rublev.

Data Debrief: Norrie defies the odds

Alcaraz is just the third top seed to lose his opening match at the Paris Masters after Pete Sampras in 1996 and Roger Federer in 2009, since the ATP-1000 format introduction in 1990.

Norrie, aged 30 years 65 days, is also the second-oldest player to defeat the ATP number one at this tournament since the event’s inauguration in 1986, behind only David Ferrer (31 years 209 days) in 2013.

This victory marks the biggest moment of Norrie's year so far, surpassing another top-10 win over Lorenzo Musetti in Washington.