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The British tennis star achieved the biggest success of his professional journey by rallying from a lost first set to overcome world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the early stage of the Paris Masters.

Even though he had before defeated Alcaraz on two prior meetings, this triumph signifies Norrie's maiden victory over a sitting world number one.

"Huge. Extremely important for me," said Norrie, who joins as the newest British man in history to defeat a world No 1. "Returning from a physical setback last year, I fell in the initial match of qualies here. I just aimed to appreciate my tennis in the closing months of the year. To achieve a triumph like this, it's the biggest victory of my career, my maiden triumph over the world No 1 and arguably the most confident athlete in the world right now."

The British player, ranked No 31, also halted Alcaraz's dominant sequence of nine finals in a row and 17 consecutive elite tournament victories, which marked the best series of outcomes in the young champion's early professional path.

Contest Breakdown

The top seed appeared to be progressing easily to success at the start as he eased in the initial stanza. Yet, Norrie steadily worked himself back into the game by serving with improved accuracy and dragging the Spanish opponent into lengthy, grueling points. His persistent steadiness and reliability gradually took its toll.

For much of the match, the world number one performed well on serve but he struggled badly to find his timing with his rally strokes. The young star looked especially uncomfortable hitting his forehand, which has been the best shot in the game for a large part of this year, producing 29 forehand miscues and a total of 54 errors. Across the net, the British player gave his opponent so few mistakes, maintaining his steadiness, athleticism and depth the entire contest while delivering effective serves and choosing his moments to advance inside the baseline and strike effectively.

Final Moments

In the tight closing stages, the British competitor superbly kept his nerve to defeat the best player in the world.

Professional Journey

Following dealing for a long time due to a serious left forearm injury and struggles with his performance, Norrie slipped as far down as No 91 this season. Having reached the advanced stages at Wimbledon and the Roland Garros fourth round subsequently, this triumph further underlines the experienced player's improvement as he aims to make his way to the world's top twenty and beyond. The Spanish sensation, in spite of his incredible achievements, is has not yet figure out how to display his finest performance in indoor conditions.