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Cameron Norrie earned the most notable success of his professional journey by rallying from a lost first set to beat world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the Paris Masters.

Although he had before overcome Alcaraz on two occasions, this triumph marks Norrie's first ever victory over a reigning world top-ranked player.

"Massive. So big for me," stated Norrie, who becomes the fifth British man in the record books to beat a global number one. "Bouncing back from a physical setback last year, I fell in the initial match of qualifiers here. I just sought to enjoy my performance in the latter part of the year. To achieve a triumph like this, it's the greatest success of my professional life, my first win over the top player and likely the most confident competitor in the sport right now."

The British player, ranked 31st globally, also halted Alcaraz's supreme streak of nine consecutive finals and 17 successive Masters 1000 successes, which represented the finest stretch of performances in the young champion's young professional path.

Game Breakdown

The top seed looked to be moving confidently towards victory early on as he eased in the opening set. However, Norrie slowly fought his way back into the game by serving with improved accuracy and dragging the Spaniard into lengthy, grueling exchanges. His relentless steadiness and dependability gradually took its toll.

For much of the battle, Alcaraz served well but he had difficulty to find his timing with his rally strokes. The rising talent looked notably uncomfortable hitting his signature shot, which has been the top weapon in the world for much of this year, producing 29 forehand miscues and a overall of 54 unforced errors. Opposing him, Norrie gave Alcaraz minimal unforced errors, keeping up his consistency, physicality and penetration the entire contest while delivering effective serves and picking his spots to move into the court and attack well.

Decisive Stages

In the tight last moments, Norrie superbly kept his nerve to close out the world's finest in the sport.

Professional Journey

After struggling for an extended period due to a serious arm issue and challenges with his game, the tennis professional fell as far down as 91st in the rankings this season. Following appearances in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the French Open second week after that, this win further underlines the veteran's development as he aims to return to the top 20 and beyond. Alcaraz, notwithstanding his extraordinary achievements, is still hasn't master how to deliver his best tennis in indoor conditions.