Adam Walton and Kim Birrell deliver massive first round upsets at 2026 French Open

Adam Walton (Rob Keating, Wikimedia Commons)

The first round of the 2026 Australian Open concluded on Tuesday with two massive upsets at Roland Garros. In the opening match at Suzanne-Lenglen Court on Tuesday, Australian Adam Walton of Home Hill, Queensland, knocked out world number eight, Daniil Medvedev of Russia, the French Open sixth seed, and 2021 United States Open champion, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4.  Heading into the match, Walton was only ranked 97th.

Walton won his match in three hours and 22 minutes. Two key statistics were double faults and unforced errors. Walton had one double fault and 46 unforced errors. Medvedev had five double faults and 60 unforced errors. This was the first time in Walton’s career that he beat a top 10 player.

Four Australian men won their first round match. Walton is joined by the eighth seed Alex de Minaur, James Duckworth and Thanasi Kokkinakis. In another first round five set thriller, Kokkinakis beat Terence Atmane of France, 6-7, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. de Minaur actually has advanced to round three as Belgium’s Alex Blockx withdrew from his second round match after injuring his ankle during a Tuesday training session when he fell over a tarp at the end of a practice court.

On the women’s side, Australians Daria Kasatkina and Kim Birrell are in round two. Birrell upset world number five Jessica Pegula of the United States, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. This was Birrell’s first ever win over a top-five player. Birrell is ranked 83rd in the world.

Another key storyline from the first round is the fact that three notable players who plan to retire at the end of the year were eliminated. They were Gael Monfils of France, Roberto Bautista-Agut of Spain, and Stanislas Wawrinka.