Medvedev Out in Paris: Walton Pulls Off First-Round Upset

Daniil Medvedev was beaten by Australian wild card Adam Walton 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 in three hours and twenty-two minutes on Suzanne-Lenglen, falling at the first hurdle of Roland Garros 2026.

For the Russian, the No. 6 seed and former world No. 1, this is the seventh first-round loss in his main-draw appearances in Paris. On the Parisian clay his record in five-set matches slips to 0-4, after defeats in 2019, 2023 and 2025. For Walton, ranked No. 97 ATP, this is his first career win against a top 10 player.

What stings most is the way the finish unfolded. Medvedev was a break up in the fifth set, leading 4-2, and from there he gradually melted under the flat hitting of the Australian, who won the next four games to close out the match. It remains a hard-to-explain constant: a player who has reached the quarterfinals in Paris only once, in 2021, and who continues to struggle as soon as the match stretches the distance.