Walton Stuns Medvedev in Five Sets for French Open First-Round Upset

Medvedev falls in first round as Walton clinches career-best win

.

Medvedev suffered another early exit at Roland Garros, losing in five sets to world No. 97 Adam Walton on Tuesday.

After trading sets with Medvedev, Walton broke back at 4-4 in the fifth and held to complete a 6-4 decider win in Paris...

Daniil Medvedev suffered another first-round exit at the French Open, losing 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 to Australian wildcard Adam Walton on Tuesday. The match was played on the Paris clay and featured several major momentum shifts.

The former world No. 1 has now lost in the opening round in six of his nine appearances at Roland Garros. His record at the clay-court Grand Slam continues to reflect his struggles on the tour’s slowest surface.

Huge win from Adam Walton 👏#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/MvpuzTzIja

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 26, 2026

“It’s huge,” Walton said in his on-court interview. He noted that beating Medvedev in Cincinnati last year gave him the belief that he could do it again in Paris.

“I knew I could do it and I believed, so I'm just happy with my performance. I'm really excited right now.”

Up next for the 27-year-old Walton is a second-round match against American Zachary Svajda, who defeated Australian Alexei Popyrin.

Medvedev showed early frustration after losing his serve and letting Walton build a 4-2 lead in the opening set. The 30-year-old then gave the set away with a forehand that went long.

Medvedev bounced back quickly and regained his rhythm to take control, winning the next set while dropping only one game. However, the sixth seed could not keep up the momentum and lost the third set.

World No. 97 Walton, who was chasing a first win over a top-10 player, lost the fourth set but kept fighting in the decider. He broke back at 4-4, held serve under pressure, and then closed out Medvedev for a memorable win.

“I'm pretty tired right now,” Walton added.

“It ‌was such an up-and-down match. I got off to a hot start, and I felt like the ebbs ‌and flows of the match were quite large today. I'm just really proud of my efforts in the fifth set, to come from a break down to get the win.”