Carlos Alcaraz struggled to come up with an explanation for his defeat to Cameron Norrie at the Paris Masters on Tuesday.

The top seed fell at the first hurdle in France, letting slip a one-set lead to lose to Norrie.

The shock result blows wide open one side of the draw, which is good news for fourth seed Taylor Fritz.

In Tuesday's late match, birthday boy Fritz defeated Aleksandar Vukic 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 to remain on course for a semi-final that would now potentially be against Norrie, rather than Alcaraz.

Alcaraz beat Fritz in the Japan Open final last month.

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Offering no excuses for his early exit, Alcaraz said: "I came here really well. I came here with a lot of energy. I came here thinking that I could do good results because I have been playing really good tennis.

"This is the best year for me in terms of playing at the end of the year. So I've been talking with some other players, with my team, that I feel great.

"Other years I felt exhausted, I felt tired, I felt mentally, physically. But this year I feel good. I skipped Shanghai. I have been at home [for some] days so I could enjoy myself there and relax, help the battery.

"So I don't know what happened here. It is a tournament that is really difficult for me to play well, but I will figure it out, and I will end up playing great tennis here, for sure."

Data debrief: Early upset favours Fritz

This was Fritz's fourth meeting with Vukic and his fourth win, with one particularly stylish rally setting in motion a straightforward second set after the tiebreak in the first.

The American has a far less commanding record against Alcaraz, though. The Spaniard has won four of their previous five meetings.

So Fritz will start to see a path forward with that significant obstacle removed. He has two titles this year but both have come on grass. His last hard-court triumph was in February 2024, a barren run he will hope to end now.