Australian Adam Walton stuns former world No.1 Daniil Medvedev in Roland-Garros thriller
Adam Walton completed an improbable fifth-set comeback to stun Daniil Medvedev for the second time and claim a top-10 scalp in a massive Roland-Garros upset.
The 97th-ranked Australian needed Tennis Australia’s reciprocal wildcard to avoid having to qualify after his ranking dropped by triple digits last month, but he made the most of it by rallying from 2-4 down to beat Medvedev 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 in the deciding set.
But this won’t be an all-Australian second-round affair. Walton will next face American Zachary Svajda, who was down 3-5 in the fourth set and beat Alexei Popyrin 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5.
World No. 7 Medvedev, a 2021 clay-court quarter-finalist, failed to make it out of the first round for the seventh time in his 10 visits to Roland-Garros.
Walton dropped his racket in disbelief as Medvedev ballooned a forehand volley well short of the baseline to seal the shock defeat with a self-sabotaging final serve play.
The Queenslander had lost his previous four matches against top-10 opposition, but he credited his three-set victory over Medvedev (then ranked 15th) at last year’s Cincinnati Masters with strengthening his belief that he can match the former world No.1.
“He was playing pretty well, getting most of the first serves [early in the fifth set]and I loved my ball, so I knew I had to stay tighter,” Walton said.
“I thought the match was 3-1 [was crucial]. I faced some break points there and if I go down 4-1 the double break will be quite difficult from there on. Getting it and keeping the score close [was important]. “I knew if I kept fighting maybe I would have a chance, and I’m glad I did.”
Walton’s valiant attempt to outmaneuver Medvedev on a scorching Paris day still looked set to fall short, given that Medvedev’s response to this frustration was to hold on easily, despite twice fending off break points to keep his chances alive in the fifth game of the final set.
But the implosion of the flammable Medvedev was imminent.
Medvedev fired more than 30 shots at Walton during their roller coaster of three hours and 22 minutes, but suddenly he was having trouble keeping the ball on the court.
It was he who encouraged the French crowd to get behind him early in the set, but Walton began to lead the local crowd after the Russian’s stray forehand cost him a break in the eighth game.
There were still more surprises to come.
Medvedev produced three more break points in the next game; one of which was Walton heading dangerously just wide of the byline when he could easily have played with more margin. He took a 5-4 lead in the fifth set and put away another drop shot from Medvedev to continue serving.
Medvedev quickly unraveled from there: he attempted a terrifying drop shot on goal, then did the same with a backhand volley, then double-faulted for 0-40.
A fourth consecutive sloppy mistake ended Medvedev’s tournament, so he only had himself to blame – but Walton put himself in position with a willingness to shoot aggressively from the start and finish points at the net.
It was the 27-year-old’s fourth main draw win at grand slam level, so his CV is much more modest than that of the man he conquered; It boils down to him playing a pair of Challenger hard court events in China in preparation for Roland-Garros.
In contrast, Medvedev was one of the rare players to defeat world No. 1 star Jannik Sinner in the semifinals of the Rome Masters just a week ago this year.
The defeat to Walton ended a typically dramatic clay-court campaign for Medvedev, who suffered a double bagel defeat to Matteo Berrettini in Monte-Carlo in April.
Red clay was always his worst surface, but his performance against Sinner was proof that he was no clay court player.
“[It was] It’s not an easy match. “I didn’t play my best tennis,” Medvedev said.
“He played well at some moments, not so well at others, and when he didn’t play that well I managed to take the game. That’s it. I couldn’t raise my level enough to win the whole game and that’s why I lost.”
While Walton remained stoic throughout the wild ups and downs, Medvedev was whining about the heat before the first set was over, which hilariously led his wife Daria, who was sitting courtside, to tell him to “behave”.
“It was definitely warmer than previous years I played here,” Walton said.
“But we thrive in the heat [in Australia]”We love the heat, it makes the ball move faster through the air, which I think helped my game today, so I really like the warm weather in Paris.”
Walton served superbly in the first and third sets – making 75 and 83 percent of his first serves, respectively – which allowed him to dictate play against Medvedev, who used his usual return points behind the baseline.
But the Australian looked vulnerable when his percentages dipped and Medvedev appeared to have averted the crisis by reeling off nine of 11 games after losing the third set.
Only one outcome seemed possible at this stage, but Walton refused to give up and Medvedev was his own worst enemy.
It was the year Walton reached the second consecutive round in the French capital, but he has never made it to the last 32 of a major. This is his best chance against the 85th-ranked Svajda, who is making his Roland-Garros debut.
Walton became the fifth Australian to advance in the first round, after Alex de Minaur, James Duckworth, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Daria Kasatkina.
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