Adam Walton has notched the biggest victory of his career, outlasting Daniil Medvedev in three sets to join Alexei Popyrin in the third round of Cincinnati.
Cincinnati, USA, 11 August 2025 | Matt Trollope
Adam Walton recovered from a set down to beat former world No.1 and 2019 champion Daniil Medvedev to reach the last 32 at the Cincinnati Open.
In his main-draw debut at the Masters 1000 event, Walton rebounded to win 6-7(0) 6-4 6-1, joining fellow Australian Alexei Popyrin in the third round.
Earlier on Sunday in Cincinnati, 21st seed Popyrin – fresh off his quarterfinal run at the Toronto Masters – beat Spanish qualifier Martin Landaluce in straight sets to set up a meeting with Andrey Rublev.
Another Aussie, Alex de Minaur, was unable to join them, overpowered by the ever-dangerous American Reilly Opelka, who finished the match with 36 winners to six.
But the Australian story of the day belonged to Walton, who rises to world No.80 in the ATP live rankings after winning six of his past eight matches.
It’s the second impressive Masters result this season for the 26-year-old, who charged to the fourth round in Miami in March.
World No.15 Medvedev is by far the highest-ranked opponent Walton has defeated, marking his first career win over a top-50 player.
He did so after staring defeat in the face in the first round against Mariano Navone; the Argentine led by a set and 5-3, and twice served for the match, before succumbing.
It was a similar story against Medvedev for Walton, who fell behind a set and was forced to save three break points in a dramatic fifth game of the second set – it extended to eight deuces – before a crucial hold.
He then broke Medvedev in the final game of the second set to force a third, and ultimately won eight of the last nine games to prevail, booking a third-round meeting with No.22 seed Jiri Lehecka.
Popyrin, meanwhile, takes a winning 2-1 head-to-head record into his match against Rublev, having won both their meetings at Masters events in 2024.
He has won four of his past five matches and made his top-20 debut in last week’s rankings, rising to world No.19.
On the women’s side, Maya Joint will attempt to continue her impressive run when she takes on 12th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova on Monday.
Having reached the third round, this is already the best WTA 1000 result of the 19-year-old Aussie’s career.
On Sunday, her compatriots Kimberly Birrell, Ajla Tomljanovic and Daria Kasatkina fell in the second round of the combined WTA/ATP 1000 event.
/SI202601151081.webp?ssl=1 "Racing Bulls showcase 2026 livery at launch event in Detroit")
