French Open: Medvedev shocked by wildcard Walton in first round
Daniil Medvedev lost a five-set first-round match to Australian wildcard Adam Walton at Roland Garros.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
Medvedev again stumbled early at the French Open, losing a see-saw five-setter to Adam Walton on the Paris clay. Walton said belief from a previous win over Medvedev helped him finish the job.
Daniil Medvedev played a long tennis match at the French Open, but he lost to Adam Walton, who was not expected to win. The match kept changing like a tug-of-war, with each player taking turns getting the upper hand.
Walton was the underdog, which means most people thought he had a smaller chance. But he kept believing in himself, like a smaller kid still trying hard in a game against someone bigger.
In the end, Walton won the last set and moved on to the next round. Medvedev’s loss matters because he has often had trouble at this tournament before.
Analysis
Match result
Daniil Medvedev was beaten 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 by Australian wildcard Adam Walton in the French Open first round, in a match that kept swinging from one player to the other on the Paris clay.
Medvedev's Roland Garros struggles
The article notes that Medvedev has now fallen at the first hurdle in six of his previous nine appearances at the clay-court major. That record underlines how uncomfortable he has often looked on Roland Garros' slow surface, even as a former world number one and sixth seed in this event.
How Walton pulled it off
Medvedev started nervously, dropped serve, and let Walton take a 4-2 lead in the opening set before the Russian briefly recovered and won the next set with ease. But the pattern kept flipping. Walton, ranked world number 97, was chasing a first win over a top-10 player and said the victory in Cincinnati last year over Medvedev gave him confidence. After Medvedev levelled the match again by taking the fourth set, Walton stayed calm in the decider, broke back at 4-4, held serve, and closed out the upset.
What happens next
Walton moves into the second round, where he will face American Zachary Svajda, who beat Australia’s Alexei Popyrin. For Medvedev, the result adds another early Grand Slam disappointment on clay and raises fresh questions about how far he can go at Roland Garros.
Key points
- Daniil Medvedev lost in five sets to Australian wildcard Adam Walton at Roland Garros.
- The scoreline was 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 in a match full of momentum swings.
- The article says Medvedev has now lost in the first round in six of his last nine French Open appearances.
- Walton said a previous win over Medvedev in Cincinnati helped him believe he could win again.
- Walton advances to face Zachary Svajda in round two.
