Carlos Alcaraz was stunned by Cameron Norrie as he lost his opening match at the Paris Masters this year.
Alcaraz had made different preparations for the Paris Masters this year after previously struggling at the final ATP 1000 tournament of the year.
This had enabled the Spaniard to get more familiar with the surroundings of the new Paris Masters venue, with Alcaraz practicing with Arthur Rinderknech prior to the tournament beginning.
However, this preparation did not pay off, and former world number one Jim Courier has explained what he thinks Alcaraz did wrong against Norrie.
Jim Courier explains why he thinks Carlos Alcaraz lost to Cameron Norrie
Norrie had beaten Alcaraz twice before, but had comfortably lost their most recent meeting at Wimbledon.
However, the Briton was the big underdog in their Paris encounter, particularly as it had been seven months since Alcaraz’s last defeat in his opening match of a tournament.
After watching Norrie beat Alcaraz, 4-6 6-3 6-4, Courier explained just what he thinks went wrong for the six-time Grand Slam champion, drawing comparisons to his defeat to David Goffin.
“What we love about Carlos Alcaraz is also what puts him at risk in matches like this,” Courier said when speaking on Tennis Channel. “We love his unpredictability. We love the way he just finds himself at the net against all odds, when he is really just playing such high risk tennis.
“He pulls it off so often, but on a day like today, 54 unforced errors. Remember 24 points a set is what you need, so over two sets worth of unforced errors from Alcaraz.
“It was also just the kamikaze net rushes against someone you don’t have to do that against. Against a guy who is not going to hit many winners from the baseline. But this is the Alcaraz experience, you get the great highs and you get some days like today.
“He has not had these days for such a long time, that’s where it caught us off guard, but it takes us back to Miami, where David Goffin beat him. Goffin played a clean match like Cam Norrie but another early exit here at a Masters 1000, after a nearly flawless stretch for Alcaraz.”
Courier added, “Norrie is a guy who does not beat himself very often. He does not come to the net unless he has a huge advantage. He is the ultimate percentage player, he doesn’t have a lot of weapons but he has a great brain and a huge engine.
“This guy can run and run and run and he talked after the match about how he has been training hard physically and this match is where it all came together for him because he knew it was going to be very physical and it certainly was that.”
Ryan Harrison appears to agree with Jim Courier’s comments on Carlos Alcaraz
Courier is not the only person who has drawn parallels from Alcaraz’s defeat to Goffin in Miami, with former Roland Garros doubles champion Ryan Harrison echoing this sentiment.
When reacting to Alcaraz’s defeat on Sky Sports, Harrison told the world number one that he needed to bring his margins in more when playing like he did against Norrie.
“That’s a lot of times what can happen with Carlos whenever he is off, he keeps firing away and sometimes you’d like to see him dial it back just a touch, maybe play a little bit longer points to find his rhythm again,” said Harrison.
“We’ve seen this in some of these losses that were a little bit uncharacteristic. Earlier this season at the Miami Open where he lost to David Goffin, much of the same, 50+ unforced errors, misfiring on some balls like that last occasion where you wouldn’t usually see him misfiring. That’s one thing he’s got to look at, sometimes on those days when you don’t feel good, you’ve got to bring the margins in a bit.”
This has continued Alcaraz’s relatively poor record at the Paris Masters, as he is still yet to surpass the quarterfinals of the tournament.
There are now just tournaments left for Alcaraz, who is prioritising one in particular that he really wants to win.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
