<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display: block;" data-ad-format="fluid" data-ad-layout-key="-hz-x+u-32+b2" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3870917644377015" data-ad-slot="6798442647"></ins>//
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<p>Kim Birrell joined Adam Walton in scoring one of the biggest upsets of the opening week in Paris, defeating No.5 seed Jessica Pegula with a dominant comeback performance at <a href="https://www.nine.com.au/topic/french-open-tennis-5xk" target="" rel="" title="Roland Garros">Roland Garros</a>.</p><p>On the same day Walton pulled off a massive first-round upset defeating top 10-ranked <a href="https://www.nine.com.au/person/daniil-medvedev-25hg" target="" rel="" title="Daniil Medvedev">Daniil Medvedev</a> in a gruelling five-set marathon on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, Birrell continued the momentum she'd built during the 2025 season which saw her reach a career high ranking of No.60.</p><p>The unseeded Birrell lost the first set but mounted a comeback to win 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in 2 hours and 15 minutes on Court Simonne-Mathieu.</p><p><strong>READ MORE:</strong> <a href="https://www.nine.com.au/sport/nrl/state-of-origin/the-mole-2026-sam-walker-queensland-maroons-debut-injury-concerns-sports-science-expert-comments-20260526-p600xq.html" target="_blank" rel="" title=""><strong>Sports scientist's grim fear for Maroons debutant Walker</strong></a></p><p><strong>READ MORE:</strong> <a href="https://www.nine.com.au/sport/afl/brad-scott-sacked-essendon-bombers-fire-head-coach-news-2026-reaction-interim-20260526-p600mo.html" target="_blank" rel="" title=""><strong>Hird will say 'yes' if Bombers ask him to be coach</strong></a></p><p></p><p><strong>READ MORE:</strong> <a href="https://www.nine.com.au/sport/nrl/state-of-origin/news-2026-burning-questions-nsw-blues-queensland-maroons-teams-sam-walker-nathan-cleary-ethan-strange-analysis-20260526-p600te.html" target="_blank" rel="" title=""><strong>Cleary could be the biggest loser from Origin shifting blow</strong></a></p><p>Pegula dominated the opening frame and broke Birrell's serve four times to take the first set in just 24 minutes.</p><p>Yet the match swung in the Aussie's direction at 2-2 in the second, when the Queenslander won five consecutive points, breaking Pegula's serve.</p><img data-id="434e38d6-80b1-4f36-9d2c-834ac83ecf18" src="https://prod.static9.net.au/fs/434e38d6-80b1-4f36-9d2c-834ac83ecf18" caption="Kim Birrell reacts." alt="" source="Nine" data-width="1129" data-height="635" fs="true" master-key="434e38d6-80b1-4f36-9d2c-834ac83ecf18" options="{"zoom":1.7,"offset":{"x":-227,"y":-85},"originalWidth":1920,"originalHeight":1080}"/><p>She consolidated the break and closed the second set 6-3 and continued the intensity into the third, dropping just three games.</p><p>Pegula's unforced error count tripled after the opening set, climbing from six to 24 and the slower style on clay suited Birrell as the match wore on.</p><p>"I don't really know what to say or think. When I saw the draw and saw I was playing Jessie, I knew it would be really tough," Birrell said.</p><p>"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.</p><a href="https://twitter.com/josemorgado/status/2059368705906082168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel="nofollow" class="embed-social embed-twitter" data-show-caption="false" data-conversation="none">https://twitter.com/josemorgado/status/2059368705906082168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw</a><p>"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."</p><p>The stunning result came hours after Walton eliminated <a href="https://www.nine.com.au/person/daniil-medvedev-25hg" target="" rel="" title="Daniil Medvedev">Medvedev</a> in a gruelling five-set marathon.</p><p>The victory sends Walton into the second round of the grand slam after a dramatic 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 triumph.</p><p>"Such an up-and-down match. I got off to a hot start, I don't know, I felt like the ebbs and flows of the match were quite large today. Just really proud of my efforts in the fifth set to come from a break down to get the win," Walton said after the game.</p><p><em><strong>Watch all the action from Roland-Garros 2026</strong></em> <a href="https://9.nine.com.au/3wfoc8"><em><strong>live and on demand on Stan Sport</strong></em></a><em><strong>, with centre court in 4K UHD. World class coverage also on 9Gem and</strong></em> <a href="https://stream.9now.com.au/jmxph90hj3b"><em><strong>streaming on 9Now</strong></em></a><em><strong> </strong></em></p><img data-id="321b710d-cee6-4082-91f4-771c945909d5" src="https://prod.static9.net.au/fs/321b710d-cee6-4082-91f4-771c945909d5" caption="Adam Walton against Daniil Medvedev at Roland Garros. " alt="Adam Walton against Daniil Medvedev at Roland Garros. " source="Anadolu via Getty Images" data-width="1024" data-height="576" fs="true" master-key="321b710d-cee6-4082-91f4-771c945909d5" options="{"offset":{"x":0,"y":36},"aspect":1.7777777777777777,"originalWidth":1024,"originalHeight":682}"/><p>For the 27-year-old Australian, the victory marks a monumental milestone in his playing career. Currently ranked world No.97, the win against the heavily favoured Medvedev marks the first top-10 victory of Walton's career.</p><p>Walton revealed a previous encounter against the Russian played a massive role in his mental preparation.</p><img data-id="f85f7cf3-1300-475a-ad3c-a4aa64d4ae97" src="https://prod.static9.net.au/fs/f85f7cf3-1300-475a-ad3c-a4aa64d4ae97" caption="Adam Walton celebrates his win over Medvedev. " alt="Adam Walton celebrates his win over Medvedev. " source="Getty" data-width="1024" data-height="576" fs="true" master-key="f85f7cf3-1300-475a-ad3c-a4aa64d4ae97" options="{"offset":{"x":0,"y":-43},"aspect":1.7777777777777777,"originalWidth":1024,"originalHeight":688}"/><p>"It's huge. Beating him in Cincinnati definitely gave me the belief today that I knew I could do it. I believed and (I'm) just really happy with my performance," he said.</p><p>"I felt he was playing pretty well. (Medvedev) was making a lot of first serves and he was liking my ball, and then I knew I just had to hang tough.</p><p>"I thought the 3-1 game, I faced some break points there and if I (went) down 4-1 double break, it's going to be pretty tough from there.</p><img data-id="f4298703-8912-41f1-8f1a-5d342da3bf32" src="https://prod.static9.net.au/fs/f4298703-8912-41f1-8f1a-5d342da3bf32" caption="Adam Walton celebrates one of his career milestones after beating Daniil Medvedev. " alt="Adam Walton celebrates one of his career milestones after beating Daniil Medvedev. " source="Getty" data-width="1024" data-height="576" fs="true" master-key="f4298703-8912-41f1-8f1a-5d342da3bf32" options="{"aspect":1.7777777777777777,"originalWidth":1024,"originalHeight":683}"/><p>"Getting that hold definitely just keeping the score close. I knew if I just kept fighting, maybe I would get a chance and I'm glad I did."</p><p>The match lasted more than three hours in the intense Parisian heat.</p><p>"Yeah, it's definitely hotter than previous years that I've played here, but we grow up in the heat, we like the heat," Walton said.</p><p>"It makes the ball move faster through the air, which I think helped my game today. So I really like it when it's hot in Paris."</p><p>While Walton celebrates his career moment, it was a different story for fellow Australian <a href="https://www.nine.com.au/person/alexei-popyrin-257k" target="" rel="" title="Alexei Popyrin">Alexei Popyrin</a>.</p><p>Popyrin bowed out in the opening round after a tough four-set battle against America's Zachary Svajda, falling 6-3, 3-6, 6-7, 5-7.</p> <p>Kim Birrell joined Adam Walton in scoring one of the biggest upsets of the opening week in Paris, defeating No.5 seed Jessica Pegula with a dominant comeback performance at <a href="https://www.nine.com.au/topic/french-open-tennis-5xk" target="" rel="" title="Roland Garros">Roland Garros</a>.</p><p>On the same day Walton pulled off a massive first-round upset defeating top 10-ranked <a href="https://www.nine.com.au/person/daniil-medvedev-25hg" target="" rel="" title="Daniil Medvedev">Daniil Medvedev</a> in a gruelling five-set marathon on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, Birrell continued the momentum she'd built during the 2025 season which saw her reach a career high ranking of No.60.</p><p>The unseeded Birrell lost the first set but mounted a comeback to win 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in 2 hours and 15 minutes on Court Simonne-Mathieu.</p><p><strong>READ MORE:</strong> <a href="https://www.nine.com.au/sport/nrl/state-of-origin/the-mole-2026-sam-walker-queensland-maroons-debut-injury-concerns-sports-science-expert-comments-20260526-p600xq.html" target="_blank" rel="" title=""><strong>Sports scientist's grim fear for Maroons debutant Walker</strong></a></p><p><strong>READ MORE:</strong> <a href="https://www.nine.com.au/sport/afl/brad-scott-sacked-essendon-bombers-fire-head-coach-news-2026-reaction-interim-20260526-p600mo.html" target="_blank" rel="" title=""><strong>Hird will say 'yes' if Bombers ask him to be coach</strong></a></p><p></p><p><strong>READ MORE:</strong> <a href="https://www.nine.com.au/sport/nrl/state-of-origin/news-2026-burning-questions-nsw-blues-queensland-maroons-teams-sam-walker-nathan-cleary-ethan-strange-analysis-20260526-p600te.html" target="_blank" rel="" title=""><strong>Cleary could be the biggest loser from Origin shifting blow</strong></a></p><p>Pegula dominated the opening frame and broke Birrell's serve four times to take the first set in just 24 minutes.</p><p>Yet the match swung in the Aussie's direction at 2-2 in the second, when the Queenslander won five consecutive points, breaking Pegula's serve.</p><img data-id="434e38d6-80b1-4f36-9d2c-834ac83ecf18" src="https://prod.static9.net.au/fs/434e38d6-80b1-4f36-9d2c-834ac83ecf18" caption="Kim Birrell reacts." alt="" source="Nine" data-width="1129" data-height="635" fs="true" master-key="434e38d6-80b1-4f36-9d2c-834ac83ecf18" options="{"zoom":1.7,"offset":{"x":-227,"y":-85},"originalWidth":1920,"originalHeight":1080}"/><p>She consolidated the break and closed the second set 6-3 and continued the intensity into the third, dropping just three games.</p><p>Pegula's unforced error count tripled after the opening set, climbing from six to 24 and the slower style on clay suited Birrell as the match wore on.</p><p>"I don't really know what to say or think. When I saw the draw and saw I was playing Jessie, I knew it would be really tough," Birrell said.</p><p>"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.</p><a href="https://twitter.com/josemorgado/status/2059368705906082168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel="nofollow" class="embed-social embed-twitter" data-show-caption="false" data-conversation="none">https://twitter.com/josemorgado/status/2059368705906082168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw</a><p>"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."</p><p>The stunning result came hours after Walton eliminated <a href="https://www.nine.com.au/person/daniil-medvedev-25hg" target="" rel="" title="Daniil Medvedev">Medvedev</a> in a gruelling five-set marathon.</p><p>The victory sends Walton into the second round of the grand slam after a dramatic 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 triumph.</p><p>"Such an up-and-down match. I got off to a hot start, I don't know, I felt like the ebbs and flows of the match were quite large today. Just really proud of my efforts in the fifth set to come from a break down to get the win," Walton said after the game.</p><p><em><strong>Watch all the action from Roland-Garros 2026</strong></em> <a href="https://9.nine.com.au/3wfoc8"><em><strong>live and on demand on Stan Sport</strong></em></a><em><strong>, with centre court in 4K UHD. World class coverage also on 9Gem and</strong></em> <a href="https://stream.9now.com.au/jmxph90hj3b"><em><strong>streaming on 9Now</strong></em></a><em><strong> </strong></em></p><img data-id="321b710d-cee6-4082-91f4-771c945909d5" src="https://prod.static9.net.au/fs/321b710d-cee6-4082-91f4-771c945909d5" caption="Adam Walton against Daniil Medvedev at Roland Garros. " alt="Adam Walton against Daniil Medvedev at Roland Garros. " source="Anadolu via Getty Images" data-width="1024" data-height="576" fs="true" master-key="321b710d-cee6-4082-91f4-771c945909d5" options="{"offset":{"x":0,"y":36},"aspect":1.7777777777777777,"originalWidth":1024,"originalHeight":682}"/><p>For the 27-year-old Australian, the victory marks a monumental milestone in his playing career. Currently ranked world No.97, the win against the heavily favoured Medvedev marks the first top-10 victory of Walton's career.</p><p>Walton revealed a previous encounter against the Russian played a massive role in his mental preparation.</p><img data-id="f85f7cf3-1300-475a-ad3c-a4aa64d4ae97" src="https://prod.static9.net.au/fs/f85f7cf3-1300-475a-ad3c-a4aa64d4ae97" caption="Adam Walton celebrates his win over Medvedev. " alt="Adam Walton celebrates his win over Medvedev. " source="Getty" data-width="1024" data-height="576" fs="true" master-key="f85f7cf3-1300-475a-ad3c-a4aa64d4ae97" options="{"offset":{"x":0,"y":-43},"aspect":1.7777777777777777,"originalWidth":1024,"originalHeight":688}"/><p>"It's huge. Beating him in Cincinnati definitely gave me the belief today that I knew I could do it. I believed and (I'm) just really happy with my performance," he said.</p><p>"I felt he was playing pretty well. (Medvedev) was making a lot of first serves and he was liking my ball, and then I knew I just had to hang tough.</p><p>"I thought the 3-1 game, I faced some break points there and if I (went) down 4-1 double break, it's going to be pretty tough from there.</p><img data-id="f4298703-8912-41f1-8f1a-5d342da3bf32" src="https://prod.static9.net.au/fs/f4298703-8912-41f1-8f1a-5d342da3bf32" caption="Adam Walton celebrates one of his career milestones after beating Daniil Medvedev. " alt="Adam Walton celebrates one of his career milestones after beating Daniil Medvedev. " source="Getty" data-width="1024" data-height="576" fs="true" master-key="f4298703-8912-41f1-8f1a-5d342da3bf32" options="{"aspect":1.7777777777777777,"originalWidth":1024,"originalHeight":683}"/><p>"Getting that hold definitely just keeping the score close. I knew if I just kept fighting, maybe I would get a chance and I'm glad I did."</p><p>The match lasted more than three hours in the intense Parisian heat.</p><p>"Yeah, it's definitely hotter than previous years that I've played here, but we grow up in the heat, we like the heat," Walton said.</p><p>"It makes the ball move faster through the air, which I think helped my game today. So I really like it when it's hot in Paris."</p><p>While Walton celebrates his career moment, it was a different story for fellow Australian <a href="https://www.nine.com.au/person/alexei-popyrin-257k" target="" rel="" title="Alexei Popyrin">Alexei Popyrin</a>.</p><p>Popyrin bowed out in the opening round after a tough four-set battle against America's Zachary Svajda, falling 6-3, 3-6, 6-7, 5-7.</p> https://ift.tt/Nl8cjE7<br>
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