Australian wildcard Adam Walton produced a stunning performance to defeat former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in the first round of the French Open on Tuesday. The Queenslander won 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 in a match lasting three hours and 22 minutes on Court Suzanne Lenglen, repeating his victory over Medvedev from the Cincinnati Open last August.
Walton, ranked 97th in the world, fought back from 3-1 down in the final set, saving two break points that would have given Medvedev a 4-1 lead. “I hung tough, I believed and I’m really excited. To get a first top-10 win at a slam is pretty epic,” Walton said after the match.
The 32°C heat in Paris played to Walton’s advantage, as he noted: “We grew up in the heat. I really like it when it’s hot in Paris.” Medvedev, however, dismissed the heat as a factor in his loss. His wife Daria was seen admonishing him from the players’ box, saying: “It’s hot for everybody. Everybody is suffering. You need to behave!”
Earlier in the day, Kimberly Birrell also caused a major upset by defeating world No. 5 Jessica Pegula 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. The 28-year-old Australian, who had lost her previous four matches, rallied after a poor first set to secure victory in one hour and 45 minutes on Court Simmone Mathieu.
Alex de Minaur advanced to the third round without playing after his opponent Alexander Blockx withdrew with a right ankle sprain. However, hopes of an all-Australian second-round clash between Walton and Alexei Popyrin were dashed when Popyrin lost to American Zachary Svajda 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5.
