Alcaraz’s ghost makes a swift exit from the Rolex Paris Masters!
Carlos Alcaraz delivered the worst performance of his 2025 season at Paris La Défense Arena, defeated by Cameron Norrie (4-6, 6-3, 6-4)
Carlos Alcaraz, Rolex Paris Masters 2025 | © Chryslène Caillaud / Psnewz
Carlos Alcaraz is writing a dark legend about his ability to get results at the Rolex Paris Masters, the only indoor Masters 1000 on the ATP calendar.
A quarter-finalist in 2022, when he was the freshly crowned world number one, the Spaniard was knocked out in his first match on Tuesday evening against Cameron Norrie, playing light-years away from his best level (4-6, 6-3, 6-4). He has only won one match in three years at the Rolex Paris Masters, with no rational explanation for this latest loss.
“I wasn’t feeling well today,” he began in his press conference. “I made a lot of errors. I wasn’t feeling anything. And then, Norrie played very good tennis today. That’s the key. Even in the first set, although I won it, I felt I could do much better. I tried to improve in the second set. It was the opposite: I played even worse.”
Norrie, who described the win as the biggest performance of his career, sensed the opening and managed to stay in the match despite the score. From unforced error to unforced error (54 unforced errors, including 29 on the forehand, against 18 for his opponent), from break point to break point (three in two golden games in the second set, before converting at 3-3), the Spaniard got bogged down in intentions that were relatively unclear and often poorly executed.
The Worst Defeat for Alcaraz in 2025
Alcaraz may regret not having drawn level at 3-1 down in the second set. Immediately after being broken, he earned two break points on Norrie’s serve in the following game. The same scenario occurred at 5-3 down in the third set, where, despite the nervousness of his suddenly less sharp opponent, he failed to convert any of his chances to come back to 5-4 with his serve to follow.
This defeat is by far Alcaraz’s most spectacular loss on the ATP Tour in 2025. It brings to mind his first-round defeat in Miami against David Goffin, even if the world number one does not classify it in the same category. “In Miami, the difficulties were more physical than tennis-related. Today, I simply couldn’t manage to hit a correct shot. This kind of match has happened to me before, but I don’t even remember when. Maybe last year.”
Alcaraz, who values spending time with family and friends off the circuit, did not hide his post-defeat plans: to immediately catch the first plane to Murcia and prepare for the ATP Finals “at home.”
