Wildcard Adam Walton has pulled off the biggest victory of his career at the French Open, staying cool in the Paris heat to shock a frazzled Daniil Medvedev for the second time in nine months.
His victory came as Alex de Minaur was given an unexpected but welcome free pass into the last 32 because of an injury to his dangerous second-round opponent.
Amid sweltering heat in Paris, the Australian No 1 will not be unhappy about being able to bypass the round after Belgium’s rising star Alexander Blockx had to withdraw on Monday with a right ankle sprain.
The 21-year-old Blockx, who has shot up to No 37 in the world and reached the semi-final in Madrid last month while defeating Casper Ruud and Felix Auger-Aliassime, had represented a serious hurdle with the pair scheduled to clash first up on Tuesday at Roland Garros.
But the youngster was left crestfallen while practising on Monday when he turned his ankle in a training session.
Walton meanwhile took advantage of one of Medvedev’s Jekyll and Hyde days, hanging tough in the final set to come from behind and win 6-2 1-6 6-1 1-6 6-4 in three hours 22 minutes on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
When he was 4-2 down in a much more closely fought fifth set after four curiously uneven stanzas, it looked as if the 27-year-old from Brisbane would miss out on repeating his previous career-best triumph over Medvedev at the Cincinnati Open last August.
But he regrouped, won the next two games and then survived a couple of break points in the crucial penultimate game, before the former world No 1 imploded to be broken to love.
“It’s huge,” said Walton, admitting his weariness after becoming the fourth Aussie man to make round two. “That win in Cincinnati definitely gave me the belief. I believed and I’m really excited right now.”
He reckoned the 32C temperatures certainly helped. “We grew up in the heat,” he said on court. “I really like it when it’s hot in Paris.”
Walton must have hoped he’d be enjoying an all-Australian second round clash with Alexei Popyrin – but the Australian No.2 suffered another dispiriting grand slam defeat, capitulating in four sets to American Zachary Svajda after a hot start.
Popyrin, who was left tearful after losing in five sets in the first round at the Australian Open in January, again looked devastated after his 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 loss to American Zachary Svajda. His poor shot selection, with a host of ill-judged drop shots, eventually cost him dear.
It was a match that the 26-year-old Sydneysider would have been firmly expecting to win after a recent spell of rejuvenation on the clay when he earned notable wins over Matteo Berrettini and Jakub Mensik at the Italian Open, while his 23-year-old Californian opponent had won once on clay this year.
But it proved another disappointment for the man who’s dropped from world No.19 last August to No.61.
