Cameron Norrie has earned himself an encounter with world No1 Carlos Alcaraz after making it through the first round of the Paris Masters.
The Briton defeated Sebastian Baez, the tricky Argentine, 6-3 6-4 in the French capital, and he survived an early fightback from the world No43, who recovered from a break down in the first set to level at 3-3.
Norrie, now ranked 31st in the world after some positive performances in recent weeks, won the next three games in response to snare first blood, and he continued that momentum into the second set, racing into another 3-0 lead.
Complacency kicked in as it looked as though he would let the cushion slip, but he clung on, saving five break points across two service games and finishing it off by converting his first match point.
"I was really tight going to serve for the match. I said I was going to pretend it was 0-30 and then it was 0-30 and 0-40," Norrie said on Sky Sports.
"It was about getting the job done and it was nice to face some adversity. It was not a typical match. He fought well."
As a result, Norrie will take on Alcaraz, who received a bye into the second round as the top seed in Paris.
The Spaniard was beaten in the third round of this event last year by home favourite Ugo Humbert.
He will play his first game back on the ATP tour since winning the Japan Open final in September, where he defeated Taylor Fritz.
He played in the new Six Kings Slam exhibition tournament in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, losing to Jannik Sinner in the final.
Norrie and Alcaraz are no strangers, having played each other seven times.
Norrie has defeated the 22-year-old twice in his career, most recently at the final of the Rio Open back in 2023.
This year, he was beaten in the last eight at Wimbledon by the then-defending champion, who was defeated by Sinner in the final.
Norrie’s compatriot Jacob Fearnley could not join him in the second round in Paris, however, as he was brushed aside by the Russian Andrey Rublev 6-1 6-4, hitting 11 double faults in the process.
