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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Adam Walton has completed an improbable fifth-set comeback to stun Daniil Medvedev for a second time and claim his maiden top-10 scalp in a titanic Roland-Garros upset.<\/p>\n The 97th-ranked Australian needed Tennis Australia\u2019s reciprocal wildcard to avoid having to qualify after his ranking slipped into triple digits last month, but he made the most of it to rally from 2-4 down in the deciding set to beat Medvedev 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4.<\/p>\n But it won\u2019t be an all-Australian second-round affair. Walton will next face American Zachary Svajda, who came from 3-5 down in the fourth set to oust Alexei Popyrin 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5.<\/p>\n It is the seventh time in 10 visits to Roland-Garros that world No.7 Medvedev, a quarter-finalist at the claycourt major in 2021, has failed to make it out of the first round.<\/p>\n Related Article Walton dropped his racquet in disbelief as Medvedev ballooned a forehand drive volley well behind the baseline to seal his shock defeat with a self-sabotaging final service game.<\/p>\n The Queenslander lost his previous four matches against top-10 opponents, but he credited his three-set victory over Medvedev \u2013 then ranked 15th \u2013 at last year\u2019s Cincinnati Masters for fuelling his belief he could match it with the former world No.1.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was playing pretty well, making a lot of first serves [early in the fifth set], and was liking my ball, so I knew I just had to hang tough,\u201d Walton said.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought that 3-1 game [was crucial]. I faced some break points there, and if I go down 4-1, double break, it\u2019s going to be pretty tough from there. Getting that hold and keeping the score close [was important]. I knew if I kept fighting, maybe I would get a chance \u2013 and I\u2019m glad I did.\u201d<\/p>\n Walton\u2019s gallant bid to upend Medvedev on a scorching Paris day still seemed destined to fall short, even after he twice staved off break points in that fifth game of the final set to keep his chances alive, given Medvedev\u2019s response to that disappointment was to hold easily.<\/p>\n But the combustible Medvedev\u2019s implosion was just around the corner.<\/p>\n Medvedev peppered Walton with more than 30 drop shots throughout their rollercoaster three-hour, 22-minute slugfest, but suddenly started struggling to keep the ball in the court.<\/p>\n It was him urging the French crowd to get behind him earlier in the set, but Walton began conducting the local fans after the Russian\u2019s stray forehand cost him the break in the eighth game.<\/p>\n Related Article There were still more twists to come.<\/p>\n Medvedev generated three more break points in the ensuing game, including one when Walton dangerously struck an overhead barely inside the sideline when he could easily have played with more margin. He edged 5-4 in front in the fifth set when he chased down and put away another Medvedev drop shot to hold serve.<\/p>\n Medvedev unravelled quickly from there: putting a ghastly drop shot attempt into the net before doing the same on a backhand drive volley, then double-faulting for 0-40.<\/p>\n A fourth-straight sloppy error ended Medvedev\u2019s tournament, so he had only himself to blame \u2013 but Walton put himself in position with some aggressive shot-making from the outset and a willingness to finish points at the net.<\/p>\n This was the 27-year-old\u2019s fourth main draw win at grand slam level, so his resume is far more modest than the man he conquered, summed up by him playing a pair of Challenger hardcourt events in China as his tune-up for Roland-Garros.<\/p>\n By contrast, Medvedev was one of the rare players this year to take a set off red-hot world No.1 Jannik Sinner in the Rome Masters semi-finals barely a week ago.<\/p>\n The loss to Walton ended a typically dramatic claycourt campaign for Medvedev, who suffered a double-bagel defeat to Matteo Berrettini in Monte-Carlo in April.<\/p>\n The red dirt has always been his worst surface, but his performance against Sinner was proof he is not a claycourt duffer.<\/p>\n \u201c[It was] not an easy match. I didn\u2019t play my best tennis,\u201d Medvedev said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe played good some moments, some moments not that good, and I managed to take the match when he didn\u2019t play that well. That\u2019s it. I didn\u2019t manage to raise my level enough to win the whole match, and that\u2019s why I lost.\u201d<\/p>\n Walton remained stoic throughout the wild ups and downs, whereas Medvedev was moaning about the heat before the first set was over, which comically caused his wife Daria, sitting courtside, to tell him to \u201cbehave\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely hotter than previous years that I\u2019ve played here,\u201d Walton said.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cBut we grow up in the heat [in Australia], we like the heat, so it makes the ball move faster through the air, which I think helped my game today, so I really like it when it\u2019s hot in Paris.\u201d<\/p>\n Walton served brilliantly in the first and third sets \u2013 making 75 and 83 per cent of his first serves, respectively \u2013 which enabled him to dictate play against Medvedev, who took up his usual return spot metres behind the baseline.<\/p>\n But the Australian looked vulnerable whenever his percentages dipped, and Medvedev appeared to have averted the crisis when he reeled off nine of 11 games after dropping the third set.<\/p>\n Only one result looked likely at that stage, but Walton refused to wilt \u2013 and Medvedev was his own worst enemy.<\/p>\n It is the second straight year that Walton has reached the second round in the French capital, but he has never made the last 32 at a major. This is his best chance against 85th-ranked Svajda, who is making his debut at Roland-Garros.<\/p>\n Walton is the fifth Australian to progress from the first round, joining Alex de Minaur, James Duckworth, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Daria Kasatkina.<\/p>\n News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Adam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/55facdb5363d959b295073e21d670333e6180620.jpeg\")
Adam Walton was ecstatic to outlast former world No.1 Daniil Medvedev in five sets.AP Photo\/Aurelien Morissard<\/p>\n![\"Australia\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779813854_145_e6199c67744a431919b405aa8c49815c2f4ae0af.jpeg\")
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Medvedev\u2019s mood swung wildly throughout the five-set contest.AP Photo\/Aurelien Morissard<\/p>\n![\"Peter](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779743236_168_3cf8fa2738ea5eecc7967ebb9047edd884610fdf.jpeg\")
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Walton is into the second round at Roland-Garros for the second straight year.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Sam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779577097_847_d17efa4da502f7e84b414f4926c3f3577c39fa1bc717cfeb38a5afc8f94c9904.jpeg\")
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