Cameron Norrie claims he had an advantage over Carlos Alcaraz during shock win in Paris

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Cameron Norrie picked up the biggest win of his career in the second round of the Paris Masters.

Taking on world number one Carlos Alcaraz, Norrie dropped the first set 4-6, but refused to be beaten.

Battling back, Norrie defeated Alcaraz 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, to secure his place in round three.

The performance was one of the best Norrie has ever produced, outclassing the Spaniard at times during their eighth career meeting.

After the match, Norrie shared the advantage he believes he had over Alcaraz during their clash in Paris.

Cameron Norrie says playing in the first round gave him an advantage over Carlos Alcaraz

During his post-match press conference, Norrie commented on his three-set win over Alcaraz at the Paris Masters.

“Yeah, I think I had a little bit of an advantage to play a match yesterday on these courts,” he said.

“You know, he didn’t play last week. Coming here, I played really well yesterday, and I got to have the momentum for that, and it’s his first match here.”

Receiving a bye into round two as the number-one seed, Norrie was Alcaraz’s first opponent in Paris, whereas the Brit had already played and dominated Sebastian Baez in round one.

While Norrie believes he had an advantage over Alcaraz, he also thinks he surprised the Spaniard with the level he produced.

“I think maybe if you asked him, he was maybe a bit surprised by the level I brought today and the intensity that we both brought to the match court,” he said.

“It was a special match.”

The 30-year-old then compared his win over Alcaraz in Paris to his defeat to the six-time major champion at Wimbledon earlier this year.

“Obviously, he’s in Wimbledon quarterfinals, he’s super confident, super relaxed, he’s played way more quarterfinals than me. So, yeah, it’s a completely different scenario and situation for the match,” said Norrie

“I had to play my best tennis, and I don’t think he played his best tennis, if you asked him.

“But on the day, that’s why tennis is so special.”

Picking up the win, Norrie reduced his head-to-head deficit against Alcaraz to 3-5.

Norrie will hope that his win over Alcaraz can spur him on to greater things in the French capital, as he searches for a second Masters 1000 title.

Every ‘active’ Masters 1000 champion on the ATP Tour

23 active players have won Masters 1000 titles during their ATP Tour careers.

However, just eight of those players have won multiple titles at the Masters 1000 level.

Active players with multiple Masters 1000 titles

• Novak Djokovic – 40
• Carlos Alcaraz – 8
• Alexander Zverev – 7
• Daniil Medvedev – 6
• Jannik Sinner – 4
• Stefanos Tsitsipas – 3
• Andrey Rublev – 2
• Hubert Hurkacz – 2

Norrie, on the other hand, is one of 15 active players who have only won one Masters 1000 title.

• Stan Wawrinka (2014 Monte-Carlo)
• Marin Cilic (2016 Cincinnati)
• Grigor Dimitrov (2017 Cincinnati)
• Karen Khachanov (2018 Paris)
• Cameron Norrie (2021 Indian Wells)
• Taylor Fritz (2022 Indian Wells)
• Pablo Carreno Busta (2022 Canada)
• Borna Coric (2022 Cincinnati)
• Holger Rune (2022 Paris)
• Alexei Popyrin (2024 Canada)
• Jack Draper (2025 Indian Wells)
• Jakub Mensik (2025 Miami)
• Casper Ruud (2025 Madrid)
• Ben Shelton (2025 Canada)
• Valentin Vacherot (2025 Shanghai)

The Brit won Indian Wells four years ago, defeating Nikoloz Basilashvili in the final, but hasn’t added to his tally since.

To keep his chances of winning his second Masters 1000 title in Paris alive, Norrie will play either Arthur Rinderknech or Valentin Vacherot in the third round.

Norrie will play his third-round match at the 2025 Paris Masters on Thursday, October 30.