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Carlos Alcaraz was left scratching his head after his shock Paris Masters exit to Cameron Norrie as he attempted to explain the defeat. The Spanish sensation entered the clash as the heavy favourite to advance but was stunned by his British opponent across three grueling sets. The outcome represented the tournament's most jaw-dropping upset to date and handed Norrie the most impressive victory of his professional journey. Alcaraz appeared visibly agitated throughout the encounter and engaged in a heated exchange with his coach at one stage. Observing the drama unfold from the commentary position, Sky Sports expert Naomi Broady remarked: "They're literally just arguing." The world number two failed to rediscover his peak level following that incident as Norrie seized command in the deciding set to secure a stunning 4-6 6-3 6-4 victory. Speaking afterwards, Alcaraz pointed to his tactical approach as the reason behind his downfall in the French capital. "I showed a wrong game strategy for this type of slow court," he said. "Things didn't work out for me. It's one of the worst matches of the year in terms of feelings. In Miami it was a physical issue, here it was different. I didn't feel the ball well at any moment." When pressed on why he experienced such difficulties, Alcaraz responded: "I don't know. I trained a lot here. I felt very good. I felt really great. I was moving well on the court. I felt the ball. "My ideas were very clear, as were my goals. But today, even in the first set, although I won it, I felt like I could do much better than I had. I tried to improve in the second set. It was the opposite: I played even worse." Alcaraz also had generous praise for Norrie, who thoroughly earned his victory after raising his game when it counted most in the deciding set. "I also think you have to give Cameron his dues, he fought really well during the match, he scored some very good points," the Spaniard continued. "He also made some balls that I could have returned, but I didn't take the opportunities. And that's it, things are what they are." Norrie expressed his joy in his on-court interview, declaring: "So big for me. I've been coming back with my injury last year. I lost first round qualies here last year, so just tried to enjoy my tennis the second half of the year. "I was able to do that and to get a win like this. Biggest win of my career, my first win over a world No 1 and especially over probably the most confident player in the world right now, him and [Jannik] Sinner combined. "But I was just so pleased with the way I did it, having a lot of chances and having to keep pushing and keep going for more and I was able to stay tough and get the win, so I'm really pleased."
