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The British tennis star achieved the most notable victory of his professional journey by coming back from a early deficit to beat world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz in three hard-fought sets in the second round of the prestigious indoor tournament.

While he had before defeated Alcaraz on two separate matches, this victory represents Norrie's first ever win over a sitting world No 1.

"Enormous. Extremely important for me," stated Norrie, who joins as the fifth British man in the record books to overcome a world No 1. "Returning from health issues last year, I lost in the initial match of qualifiers here. I just aimed to embrace my performance in the closing months of the year. To get a victory like this, it's the greatest victory of my career, my maiden triumph over the global number one and probably the most confident athlete in the world right now."

Norrie, seeded 31st in the world, also ended Alcaraz's supreme streak of nine straight final appearances and 17 consecutive premier event victories, which was the best series of results in the young champion's young career.

Game Analysis

The top seed appeared to be progressing easily to a win at the start as he eased past the initial stanza. However, the British contender slowly worked himself into contention by serving with sharper placement and dragging the Spaniard into lengthy, demanding points. His relentless steadiness and dependability slowly took its toll.

For much of the match, Alcaraz served well but he struggled badly to find his timing with his rally strokes. The young star looked particularly uncomfortable executing his forehand, which has been the top weapon in the sport for a large part of this year, haemorrhaging 29 forehand miscues and a total of 54 unforced errors. On the other side, the British player offered his opponent so few mistakes, maintaining his steadiness, physicality and power throughout while serving efficiently and choosing his moments to force himself inside the baseline and attack well.

Decisive Moments

In the tight final games, Norrie brilliantly held his composure to overcome the top competitor in the world.

Career Journey

After dealing for a long time due to a serious physical setback and difficulties with his form, the tennis professional slipped as low as No 91 this year. Having reached the last eight at the grass-court major and the clay-court Grand Slam fourth round since then, this win highlights the experienced player's progress as he seeks to come back to the elite rankings and even higher. Alcaraz, notwithstanding his remarkable success, is still hasn't figure out how to produce his best tennis indoors.