French Open 2026: First is worst for Daniil Medvedev!

Adam Walton celebrates his victory over Daniil Medvedev in Paris on Tuesday

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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