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Cameron Norrie achieved the most important victory of his professional journey by rebounding from a set down to defeat world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz in three hard-fought sets in the early stage of the prestigious indoor tournament.

While he had before defeated Alcaraz on two occasions, this win represents Norrie's first ever victory over a sitting world top-ranked player.

"Massive. So big for me," said Norrie, who becomes the latest British man in the record books to beat a global number one. "Returning from injury last year, I was defeated in the initial match of qualies here. I just tried to embrace my tennis in the second half of the year. To get a win like this, it's the greatest success of my tennis journey, my initial victory over the global number one and likely the most in-form player in the sport right now."

Norrie, ranked No 31, also halted Alcaraz's supreme sequence of nine consecutive finals and 17 consecutive elite tournament wins, which was the finest stretch of performances in the Spanish star's early career.

Game Overview

The top seed looked to be advancing smoothly towards victory in the beginning as he cruised past the initial stanza. However, Norrie gradually worked himself into contention by executing with greater precision and engaging the Spanish opponent into lengthy, grueling points. His relentless shot tolerance and consistency gradually made an impact.

Through most of the contest, the world number one delivered strong serves but he struggled badly to find his timing on his baseline shots. The rising talent looked particularly uncomfortable executing his primary weapon, which has been the best shot in the sport for most of this season, committing 29 forehand unforced errors and a combined of 54 unforced errors. On the other side, the British player presented Alcaraz minimal unforced errors, keeping up his reliability, physicality and depth throughout while serving efficiently and choosing his moments to force himself inside the baseline and play aggressively.

Decisive Moments

In the tight final games, the British competitor brilliantly held his calm to close out the world's finest in the world.

Career Journey

Following battling for months due to a serious arm issue and struggles with his game, Norrie dropped as far down as 91st globally this year. After making the last eight at the grass-court major and the Roland Garros second week after that, this victory reinforces the 30-year-old's progress as he aims to return to the top 20 and beyond. The Spanish sensation, notwithstanding his incredible accomplishments, is has not yet solve how to produce his top form indoors.