Daniil Medvedev lost in the first round of the French Open for the seventh time in his career as the former world No 1’s difficult relationship with Roland Garros continued in a five-set defeat to Australian wildcard Adam Walton.
Medvedev, the sixth seed, lost the final four games of a rollercoaster first-round match and capitulated on serve to lose the last game to love, with Walton winning 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 in three hours and 22 minutes.
Medvedev, 30, has now fallen at the opening hurdle in seven of his 10 appearances in Paris since making his debit in 2017, including three of the last four years.
The Russian, who won the US Open in 2021 and has reached five other grand slam finals, has now suffered four first-round defeats at grand slams in his last five appearances, the exception coming at the Australian Open in January when he reached the fourth round.
This has been a deeply curious clay-court season for Medvedev. He lost 6-0 6-0 to Matteo Berrettini in the second round in Monte Carlo, only to reach the semi-finals on the Italian Open in Rome and force Jannik Sinner to three sets in a competitive display.
Medvedev re-entered the world’s top 10 in March and was seeded sixth in Paris, but becomes the biggest causality of the tournament so far following the exit of seventh seed Taylor Fritz on Sunday.
Walton, who secured the first top-10 win of his career, had defeated Medvedev in their previous meeting in Cincinnati last season. The 97-ranked Australian is through to the second round in Paris for the second time.
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