(May 26, 2026) Day three produced some major upsets in Paris at Roland Garros.
No. 6-seeded Daniil Medvedev fell to Aussie Adam Walton in five sets, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6. 6-4 in an over four-hour match. No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula also lost to an Aussie, No. 83 Kim Birrell.
“I want to play Grand Slams,” Medvedev said in his post-match news conference. “I know that I am in good shape and I can play well in Roland Garros, as well. I can. It’s just tougher for me [than the other majors] 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 when it doesn’t work, why not? That’s the only thing I will consider next year.”
“Not an easy match,” Medvedev said. “I didn’t play my best tennis. He played good [in] some moments, some moments not that good, and I managed to take the match when he didn’t play that well. That’s it. I didn’t manage to raise my level enough to win the whole match, and that’s why I lost.”
The 30-year-old Russian has now been bounced out of the first round of the clay court tennis major seven of his 10 appearances.
Birrell’s 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Pegula was the best win of her career, a first over a top-5 player and first in Paris.
“I don’t really know what to say or think,” she said on court after the match. “When I saw the draw and saw I was playing Jessie, I knew it would be really tough. I really admire her as a player and person. I tried to take it one point at a time. I thought she played so well in the first set. My goal was to just win one game and slowly gain some confidence.
“So happy I was able to play probably the best match I’ve played on clay, and able to play during a Grand Slam, especially here, it’s really really special.”
Former major champion Marin Cilic fell to 17-year-old Frenchman Moise Kouame, his first-ever match win at a tennis major, 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-1.
“I just wanted to go in and have fun, and that’s what I managed to do,” the Paris teenager said after soaking up the applause on another sweltering day in Paris.
“A lot of emotions, of course. It’s exceptional,” Kouame said. “Coming to play this tournament, I didn’t exactly know what to expect. It’s true that the team and I worked hard to be as close as possible. Today … the entire crowd really helped on break points, at the end of the set.
“It certainly wasn’t easy, but I always try to stay in the moment, not think too much about the score, and today I really managed to do that well.”
Top seeds Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka had easy wins over their opponents. Sinner extended his winning streak to 30. Other seeded players advancing included Coco Gauff, Madison Keys, Naomi Osaka, Learner Tien, Victoria Mboko,
