French Open: Daniil Medvedev, notoriously plagued by clay, again upset in first round, this time by Adam Walton

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A week and a half after Russian Daniil Medvedev gave world No. 1 Jannik Sinner a run for his money in the semifinals of the Italian Open, his struggles on clay returned. Medvedev fell victim to another upset on the surface, bowing out of the French Open with a first-round defeat for the second year in a row and third time in the past four seasons.

Seeded No. 6 in Roland-Garros, the 30-year-old Medvedev lost a grueling, five-set match to Australian Adam Walton, who collected his first win over a top-10 opponent with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 victory on Tuesday after three-and-a-half hours in punishing Paris heat.

Walton received a wild-card invitation to play in the Grand Slam and came in 97th in the ATP rankings. He’ll now face American Zachary Svajda in the second round on Thursday.

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At the podium, Medvedev didn’t blame the bubbling temperatures, which were reportedly forecast to reach at least 90 degrees, for his Jekyll and Hyde play. That said, he conceded that heat like that does affect the surface.

It’s known, after all, that when clay dries out quicker, it makes for a faster-playing court.

“I mean, I don't want to find excuses,” said Medvedev, a former world No. 1 who most notably won the US Open in 2021.

“I know why I don't really play always my best in Roland-Garros, but if I say it, it's excuses. So I keep it to myself.”

Medvedev wasn’t defensive during his post-match news conference. He accepted the loss and eventually shared some insight behind the up-and-down nature of the day,and, more generally, his career.

“Every tournament has a different court, different balls, different ... what else?” Medvedev said. “I mean, I can be different every day.”

Providing an example, Medvedev noted how he isn’t much of a morning person and typically plays worse when he has to get up early.

“In tennis, you need to adapt to the things, and sometimes I'm not good enough to adapt to it and sometimes I am,” he explained. “And that's basically all I can tell you.”

A reporter followed up, respectfully suggesting that Medvedev — the runner-up at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2024 — was selling himself short.

“My tennis depends on a couple of things that I cannot control, meaning, if the ball doesn't go, I don't have the power to make it go,” Medvedev then explained.

“Like, Jannik, it doesn't matter. Ball doesn't go, he hits it full power. The ball goes, he just makes a bit adjustment and doesn't go full power. I go full power, and if the ball doesn't go, it doesn't go.”

Despite acknowledging his deficiencies, Medvedev is confident he can play well in Grand Slams again, and that he can even fare better at Roland-Garros. When asked if he’d ever consider skipping the tournament, he quickly shot down that idea.

“No, no, no, no, no,” he said. “I mean, unless I'm injured, of course. But no, I mean, even one time I had this hernia injury and I could've consider skipping it and prepare for Wimbledon ... but no, I want to play Grand Slams.”

He added: “I know that I'm in good shape and I can play well in Roland-Garros as well. I can. It's just tougher for me and first rounds are usually tougher for me, but I will always come here. Maybe I should consider playing a tournament before, which I usually don't do before Grand Slams, but, I mean, when it doesn't work, why not? So that's the only thing I will consider next year.”

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