World number one Carlos Alcaraz said he had “no feeling at all” for the ball after he was beaten 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in his opening match at the Paris Masters on Tuesday by 31st-ranked Briton Cameron Norrie. The six-time Grand Slam champion has failed to win the Paris Masters in five attempts and now faces losing his place atop the rankings should rival Jannik Sinner win the tournament.  After three weeks out of official competition due to an ankle injury which forced him to skip the Shanghai Masters, Alcaraz said he had come into the event in Paris in fine fettle. 

I had a lot of practices here, which I was feeling great, feeling amazing, moving on the court, hitting the ball,” the 22-year-old said.

“But today, even in the first set, that I won, I just felt like I could do much more than what I did. I tried in the second set just to be better, but it was totally the opposite. I just felt even worse.”

Just like during his Roland Garros success earlier in the season, Alcaraz hit a serious mid-match slump, but on this occasion he was unable to dig himself out of a hole in the French capital.

“I didn’t feel well today. A lot of mistakes… I had no feeling at all,” he summarised.

“I’m really disappointed about my level today, and it is what it is.”

The Spaniard, however, did praise his opponent for capitalising on his mistakes.