Cameron Norrie ‘Pumped’ for Paris Masters Clash with World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz After Straight-Sets Win
Britain’s Cameron Norrie says he is “pumped” to face world number one Carlos Alcaraz in the second round of the Paris Masters, after beating Sebastian Baez in straight sets.
Norrie, ranked 31st in the world, defeated Argentina’s Baez 6-3 6-4 in a match that featured six breaks of serve.
Fellow Briton Jacob Fearnley, 24, was not as lucky, losing 6-1 6-4 to 12th seed Andrey Rublev in his first-round match.
Norrie started strongly, winning the first three games before Baez broke back to level at 3-3. But the 30-year-old quickly recovered, taking the next three games to seal the first set.
In the second set, Norrie again led 3-0 but nearly lost control, saving five break points before finally closing out the match.
“I was really tight when serving for the match,” Norrie told Sky Sports. “I said to myself I’d pretend it was 0-30 — and then it actually was 0-30 and 0-40. It was about getting the job done, and it was nice to handle some pressure. It wasn’t a typical match — he fought well.”
Norrie now faces Alcaraz, who is returning to action for the first time since winning the Japan Open in September. The Spaniard, who lost in the third round in Paris last year, has beaten Norrie in five of their seven previous meetings, including straight sets at Wimbledon earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Fearnley struggled with his serve against Rublev, hitting 11 double faults compared to the Russian’s two.
The young Brit, who rose from outside the top 500 to inside the top 50 earlier this year, admitted his nerves have recently affected his form. He has since dropped to 78th in the world.
Rublev broke Fearnley’s serve five times and wrapped up the win in just 78 minutes. The world number 17 will now play 19-year-old American Learner Tien, who beat Nuno Borges of Portugal 6-2 7-6 (9-7).
