World number one Carlos Alcaraz said he had “no feeling at all” for the ball after being beaten 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in his opening match at the Paris Masters by 31st-ranked Briton Cameron Norrie.
The six-time Grand Slam champion has yet to win the Paris Masters in five attempts and now risks losing his top ranking if rival Jannik Sinner wins the tournament.
After three weeks out of competition due to an ankle injury that forced him to skip the Shanghai Masters, Alcaraz said he had entered the event in Paris feeling confident.
“I had a lot of practices here, which I was feeling great — feeling amazing, moving on the court, hitting the ball,” the 22-year-old said.
“But today, even in the first set that I won, I just felt like I could do much more. I tried in the second set to be better, but it was totally the opposite. I just felt even worse.”
Just like during his Roland Garros success earlier in the season, Alcaraz hit a serious mid-match slump — but this time, he was unable to recover in the French capital.
“I didn’t feel well today. A lot of mistakes… I had no feeling at all,” he summarised.
“I’m really disappointed about my level today, and it is what it is.”
The Spaniard, however, praised his opponent for capitalising on his errors.
“I have to give credit to Cam as well, because I think he didn’t let me stay or come back into the match. Norrie played really great tennis,” Alcaraz said.
The mercurial Norrie rose to the occasion on the 17,500-capacity centre court at the La Defense Arena.
“Such a special win to beat probably the most confident player in the world right now,” said former world number eight Norrie.
“I told myself before the match, even if I get in a winning scenario, I’m not going to be afraid to win. I stayed true to that.”
Norrie’s shot-making drew repeated admiration from the crowd, even leaving Alcaraz stunned after a couple of spectacular points — including a superb passing shot and a perfectly-placed lob.
As Alcaraz’s serve and backhand faltered, Norrie broke at 3-3 in the decider and brought up two match points. Despite a lucky net-cord bounce going against him, he kept his focus to seal victory.
“I remember when I played him in Rio (in 2023), and I was 40-30 serving for the match. I hit the T and said, ‘Okay, I’m going to go T again.’ I managed to hit the spot and he missed the return. It was a nice moment,” Norrie recalled.
Elsewhere, US fourth seed Taylor Fritz advanced to the third round with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 win over Aleksandar Vukic, while Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, the 2020 Paris Masters champion, cruised past Jaume Munar 6-1, 6-3.
Joao Fonseca, fresh from his Basel title, overcame Denis Shapovalov in three sets, and Felix Auger-Aliassime rallied past Francisco Comesana 6-7 (2/7), 6-3, 6-3.
Ben Shelton also moved forward, beating Flavio Cobolli in straight sets.
Valentin Vacherot, the surprise Shanghai Masters winner, continued his strong run by defeating Jiri Lehecka 6-1, 6-3. He will next face his cousin Arthur Rinderknech, with the winner meeting Norrie in the third round.
World number two Jannik Sinner is set to begin his Paris Masters campaign against Belgium’s Zizou Bergs on Wednesday.
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