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Daniil Medvedev’s wretched run at Roland Garros continued on Tuesday as the World No. 6 bowed out in the first round once again in stunning fashion, losing to Australian wildcard Adam Walton in five sets in an astonishing contest on the Suzanne-Lenglen Court.
The former US Open champion was outplayed by Walton 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 in three hours and 22 minutes on the clay and claimed the biggest win of his career, as well as his first over a top-10 player. It was Medvedev’s seventh first-round exit at the French Open in 10 visits and leaves him with a dismal 0-4 record in five-set encounters at Roland Garros.
“I know that I am in good shape and I can play well in Roland Garros. I can. It’s just tougher for me, and first rounds are usually tougher for me, but I will always come here,” Medvedev said.
World No. 97 Walton, playing his first clay-court match of the year, admitted that last year’s victory over the Russian at the Cincinnati Masters had given him a taste of what he could do against the 30-year-old. “Just really proud of my efforts in the fifth set to come from a break down to get the win. It’s huge. Beating him in Cincinnati definitely gave me the belief today. I knew I could do it. I believed. Just really happy with the performance. Just really excited right now,” Walton said. Elsewhere, there was success for French tennis, with 17-year-old Moise Kouame producing an incredible upset over former US Open champion Marin Cilic on his Grand Slam debut to win 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-1.
Meanwhile, World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka began her campaign with a comfortable 6-4, 6-2 win over Spain’s Jessica Bouzas. In another match, women’s defending champion Coco Gauff made short work of American Taylor Townsend, kicking off with a 6-4, 6-0 performance.
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