Daniil Medvedev suffered another early exit at the French Open after crashing out in the first round to Australian wildcard Adam Walton in a dramatic five-set battle on the clay courts of Roland Garros.
The former world number one was beaten 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 in a contest filled with wild momentum swings, extending Medvedev’s miserable record at the French Open, where he has now lost in the opening round in six of his last nine appearances.
Medvedev’s struggles on clay resurfaced early in Tuesday’s encounter as the sixth seed dropped serve and quickly found himself trailing in the opening set. Walton capitalised on the Russian’s mounting frustration to establish a 4-2 lead before sealing the set when Medvedev sent a forehand long beyond the baseline.
The 30-year-old responded emphatically in the second set, rediscovering his rhythm and dominating proceedings to level the contest while conceding only one game. However, consistency again deserted Medvedev as Walton regained control in the third set to move back in front.
The pattern continued in the fourth set, with Medvedev once again producing a commanding response to force a deciding set and keep alive hopes of avoiding another painful Paris exit.
But world number 97 Walton refused to fade under pressure. The Australian, chasing the first top-10 victory of his career, showed remarkable composure in the final set. After surrendering the fourth set heavily, he fought back to break Medvedev at 4-4 before holding serve in a tense game and then closing out a famous upset victory.
