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PARIS — Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz<\/a> looked out of rhythm in his 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 loss to unseeded Cameron Norrie<\/a> in the second round of the Paris Masters on Tuesday.<\/p>\n The six-time Grand Slam winner even had an animated discussion with a coach Juan Carlos Ferrero after losing the second set.<\/p>\n “I’m really disappointed about my level,” Alcaraz said. “I didn’t feel well today. A lot of mistakes.”<\/p>\n Norrie sealed victory on his second match point with a strong first serve that Alcaraz returned long. It was his first career win against a No. 1-ranked player.<\/p>\n Alcaraz made 54 unforced errors and won only 64% of his first-serve points as he slipped to a third loss in eight matches against Norrie. It was their first meeting indoors.<\/p>\n The defeat also ended Alcaraz’s 17-match winning run in Masters events and means second-ranked Jannik Sinner<\/a> will move to the top of the ATP rankings if he wins the tournament. Sinner plays Zizou Bergs<\/a> on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Alcaraz has won eight titles this season — including three Masters tournaments to go with the French Open, thanks to a big comeback, and the U.S. Open.<\/p>\n He was at a loss to explain this defeat.<\/p>\n “I had a lot of practices [where] I was feeling great, feeling amazing, moving on the court, hitting the ball. I had all the ideas clear, all the goals clear,” he said. “Even in the first set, even that I won, I just felt like I could do much more. I tried in the second set just to be better, but it was totally the opposite.”<\/p>\n He praised Norrie.<\/p>\n “I have to give credit to Cam,” Alcaraz said. “He didn’t let me stay or come back (in)to the match.”<\/p>\n Norrie next faces the winner of Wednesday’s match between cousins Valentin Vacherot<\/a> and Arthur Rinderknech<\/a>.<\/p>\n Vacherot beat 14th-seeded Jiri Lehecka<\/a> 6-1, 6-3 in the first round earlier on Tuesday. The 40th-ranked Vacherot faces Rinderknech a little more than two weeks after beating him in the Shanghai Masters final. Vacherot made an against-the-odds run from qualifying in China to win his first career tournament and soar up the rankings.<\/p>\n Preparations will be a little different this time.<\/p>\n “We’ll stay in our own bubbles. We’re cousins, yes, but we’re not on the same team so we’re not going to have dinner together tonight,” said Vacherot, who is from Monaco.<\/p>\n “In Shanghai we had breakfast together, we warmed up together, because we were far from everyone and everywhere,” Vacherot added. “He came to see my matches, I would come and watch his matches, and we had no one else to rely upon. (This time) all our families are here so we’ll stick to our sides, and I hope that we’re going to deliver a wonderful match.”<\/p>\n Fifth-seeded American Ben Shelton<\/a> reached the third round with a 7-6 (4), 6-3 win over Flavio Cobolli<\/a>. He faces Andrey Rublev<\/a> next. In the late match, fourth-seeded Taylor Fritz<\/a> played Aleksandar Vukic<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ninth-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime<\/a> and No. 11 Daniil Medvedev<\/a> were also victorious on Tuesday.<\/p>\n The Paris Masters, an indoor tournament, moved from its long-standing home at the Bercy Arena – which hosted the men’s and women’s basketball finals at last year’s Paris Olympics – to La D\u00e9fense Arena. The multisport venue is home to a rugby team and fans here witnessed swim star L\u00e9on Marchand’s gold-medal rush at the Paris Games, as well as a Taylor Swift concert in May last year.<\/p>\n Sinner, for one, appreciates the new venue.<\/p>\n “It’s much more comfortable. Bigger center court and also court 1 and court 2 (are) great courts,” the four-time Grand Slam champion from Italy said. “We have some great facilities where we can practice with a great gym and everything set up in a perfect way.”<\/p>\n