Cameron Norrie fails to back up stunning win over Carlos Alcaraz with defeat to Valentin Vacherot
Cameron Norrie’s Paris Masters campaign came to an abrupt end on Thursday as he became the latest to fall to the in-form Valentin Vacherot.
Norrie saw off Carlos Alcaraz in the second round, hailing it as “the biggest win of my career”, with the victory marking the first time he had ever defeated a world No 1.
But he could not back up his heroics from that three-set tussle as he lost 7-6(4) 6-4 to Vacherot. The Monegasque is making his debut in the Paris main draw and will now face either US Open semi-finalist and ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime or Daniel Altmaier in the quarter-finals.
Norrie won four more points than Vacherot overall but could not take any of his five break point opportunities, while his opponent took the only one that came his way – and it proved enough to book a spot in the last eight.
“It was a really big performance,” Vacherot said. “I’m happy with how I handled the hot moments. Everything is clicking now. It’s the work of many years – pure work.”
Norrie dropped only two points on serve in the first set but spurned his lone chance to break, while more break point opportunities came and went at 2-2 in the second set. He was broken in the following game and could not restore parity despite another two chances to break for 4-4, with Vacherot enjoying the support of the partisan crowd as he stormed to victory.
The win extended a fairytale season for the 26-year-old after he saw off his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the previous round – the same man he defeated to win his maiden ATP title at the Masters 1000 event in Shanghai last month.
Vacherot became the lowest-ranked Masters champion in history with that brilliant breakout run.
The Monegasque has rocketed up the world rankings, from 204th at the start of September and when he took the title in Shanghai to 40th at the start of this week, and has now won ten of his 12 meetings with top-50 players this season.
He had been on the brink of the top 100 last summer before a shoulder injury saw him sidelined for much of the second half of the year, with his ranking plummeting as a result.
Vacherot received a wildcard to the Paris Masters after winning Shanghai, which he had originally entered as an alternate, and only received a place in the qualifying draw after several players pulled out.
Despite the defeat the second half of the season has been a positive one for Norrie. The Briton was ranked as low at 91st in the world in May but is now back up to 31st and in with a shot at a seeding for the Australian Open.
