PARIS — In a surprising turn of events, world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz struggled to find his rhythm and fell to unseeded Cameron Norrie with a score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 during the second round of the Paris Masters on Tuesday.
The six-time Grand Slam champion was seen having an intense conversation with his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, after dropping the second set.
Norrie seized the opportunity, clinching the victory on his second match point, courtesy of a powerful serve that Alcaraz returned long. This victory marked Norrie’s first-ever win against a top-ranked player.
Alcaraz accumulated a staggering 54 unforced errors and managed to win only 64% of his first-serve points, which contributed to his third loss out of eight encounters with Norrie. This match was also their first duel on indoor courts.
This defeat ended Alcaraz’s impressive 17-match winning streak in Masters events. Should second-ranked Jannik Sinner win the tournament, he will ascend to the top of the ATP rankings, with his next match against Zizou Bergs on Wednesday.
Norrie will compete next against the winner of the match between cousins Valentin Vacherot and Arthur Rinderknech, which is set for Wednesday.
Earlier on Tuesday, Vacherot triumphed over 14th-seeded Jiri Lehecka with a solid 6-1, 6-3 performance. Ranked 40th, Vacherot will face Rinderknech just over two weeks after their showdown in the Shanghai Masters final, where Vacherot claimed his first tournament title by making a remarkable run from qualifiers.
This time around, their preparations will differ slightly.
“We’ll maintain our own bubbles. Yes, we’re cousins, but we’re not on the same team, so no dinner together tonight,” Vacherot shared, hailing from Monaco.
“In Shanghai, we shared breakfast and warm-ups because we were isolated from everyone else. He would watch my matches, and I’d support him too. This time, our families are all present, so we’ll stick to our corners, and I look forward to a fantastic match,” Vacherot added.
Fifth-seeded American Ben Shelton advanced to the third round after a closely contested 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory over Flavio Cobolli. His next opponent is Andrey Rublev. Meanwhile, in the late match, fourth-seeded Taylor Fritz faced Aleksandar Vukic.
In other first-round action, ninth-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime and No. 11 Daniil Medvedev both secured victories.
The Paris Masters has relocated from its former venue at the Bercy Arena—host of last year’s Olympic basketball finals—to the La Défense Arena, a multi-sport facility that also accommodates a rugby team. Fans here recently enjoyed witnessing swimming star Léon Marchand’s gold medal win at the Paris Games and even a Taylor Swift concert in May of last year.
“The atmosphere is much more comfortable, with a grander center court and excellent facilities on courts 1 and 2,” noted the Italian four-time Grand Slam champion. “We have access to top-notch training facilities, including a fantastic gym.”
Meanwhile, third-ranked Alexander Zverev has found the noise level a bit overwhelming.
“When practicing on the outer courts, you can hear noise from Court 1 and the main court’s speakers. It’s quite lively,” the powerful-serving German commented.
