Cameron Norrie produced one of the shocks of the season on Tuesday, defeating world number one Carlos Alcaraz at the Paris Masters.
The Brit was far from the favourite against Alcaraz, who was looking to secure the year-end world number one spot and win his first Paris Masters title.
Norrie has now won three of his last five matches against Alcaraz, who described his ‘disappointment’ regarding his level in Paris.
The Brit’s contest against Alcaraz marked his first match in the new Paris Masters arena, which was moved from Bercy this year.
The new arena was recently the subject of a complaint by world number three Alexander Zverev. However, Norrie has taken a more positive view.
Cameron Norrie says the new Paris Masters venue is ‘special’
From 1986 to 2024, the Paris Masters was held at the Accor Arena in Bercy. This year, the venue was moved to the La Défense Arena in Paris.
Ahead of his first match in Paris, German star Alexander Zverev complained about the new venue, highlighting the level of noise emanating from other courts when trying to practice.
“Some things were a bit better in Bercy, like the practice courts,” Zverev said.
“The second match courts are better, but a bit messy. There’s a lot of noise from the other courts.
“For example, if you play on one of the outer courts, you can hear noise from court 1 and the speakers from the stadium court. It’s like there’s a lot of movement.”
Cameron Norrie, who will face Valentin Vacherot or Arthur Rinderknech in the next round, offered his take on the new venue after defeating Alcaraz on Tuesday.
“Yeah, I think for the players at least, it feels like a lot more space,” Norrie told reporters.
“All the different areas, the practice courts. I think they’ve done a really good job. It’s a special venue.
“I think Bercy will be missed with the centre court, it is, I think, the best indoor tennis court in the world, unreal for the fans. That was a shame to lose this one.
“But I think it just shows how much people in France love their tennis. The stadium was close to full tonight, and I felt the energy. It was nice to have kind of the energy for me. I had a lot of friends in the crowd too.
“But, one, I think it’s quite an easy place to get to with the transport, so I think it’s good for other people. And us players, like, for me, restaurants, there’s not so much choice around here, but it’s pretty easy to get into the centre of Paris and enjoy Paris. I’m not too worried with this.
“But I think they’ve done a really, really good job. It has a similar vibe, with all the interior design, the ATP and everyone, the French Federation has done. It feels similar, but I think with a bit more space.”
As stated previously, Norrie will play the winner of Valentin Vacherot and Arthur Rinderknech in the Paris Masters third round.
Vacherot and Rinderknech will play each other for the first time since their extraordinary Shanghai Masters final.
Vacherot stunned world number 16 Jiri Lehecka in the first round, while Rinderknech battled past Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan.
Cameron Norrie avenges Wimbledon loss
In his last meeting against Alcaraz on the ATP Tour, Cameron was simply outplayed by the Spaniard.
Norrie performed extremely well at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships, reaching the quarter-final stage. He defeated Roberto Bautista Agut, Frances Tiafoe, Mattia Bellucci and Nicolas Jarry.
However, Norrie was outclassed in the quarter-finals, losing 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 to Alcaraz.
The Spaniard won a remarkable 89 per cent of points on his first serve, while also breaking the Norrie serve on five occasions.
Norrie avenged this loss with victory in Paris, and he will hope to perform at the same high level when he plays Vacherot or Rinderknech in the next round.
The Brit’s first victory against Alcaraz came in 2022, in the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals.
