Medvedev crashes out of French Open in five-set defeat as Sabalenka advances

Walton, who entered the tournament with a wild card and is ranked 96th, stunned the former US Open champion 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 in a dramatic first-round clash at Roland Garros on Tuesday.

Late in the fifth set, a double fault from Medvedev gave Walton three match points, and the sixth seed hit a wild shot on the first to hand the Australian the biggest win of his career.

Meanwhile, women's World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka enjoyed a far more comfortable start as she used the hot conditions in Paris to full advantage in a 6-4, 6-2 win over Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.

Sabalenka mixed aggressive baseline hitting with regular approaches to the net on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

"That's the most enjoyable part of the game right now - that I'm able to come to the net to play points there," Sabalenka said. "I'm super proud that I was able to improve that part of the game."

The unusually warm weather at Roland Garros has made the clay courts faster than usual, encouraging more attacking tennis and net play.

For a third consecutive day, temperatures in Paris were forecast to climb above 32 degrees Celsius.

"Let's hope that this is the perfect condition for me," Sabalenka said. "It suits my game really well."

Sabalenka reached last year's French Open final before losing to Coco Gauff, having already claimed Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open and US Open.

Gauff was later scheduled to begin her title defence against fellow American Taylor Townsend.

Later in the day, men's world No 1 Jannik Sinner was set to open his campaign against French wild card Clement Tabur as he looked to extend his winning streak to 30 matches. 

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