Australia's Adam Walton achieved a significant milestone by securing his first Grand Slam singles win at the French Open on Tuesday.
In a gruelling, five-set contest against German qualifier Maximilian Marterer that lasted 3 hours and 37 minutes, Walton secured his first Grand Slam singles win.
This result has set him up for a match with Andrey Rublev in the next round.
MORE: All the Aussie results at the French Open
So who is Adam Walton?
26-year-old Queenslander
Born in a small town of Home Hill in north Queensland in 1999, Adam Walton started playing tennis at the age of five.
During his junior years, he achieved reaching the semi finals of the Australian U/18 Championships in December 2016.
Turning 18 in 2017, he moved to the United States to attend the University of Tennessee, where he played collegiate tennis for five years.
During his time there, he achieved notable success, including winning the 2021 NCAA doubles title with partner Patrick Harper.
Professional career
Adam Walton turned professional after graduating in 2022 and quickly began building his presence on the ATP Challenger circuit.
He claimed his first Challenger singles title in August 2023 at the Atlantic Tire Championships in North Carolina, shortly after making his Grand Slam debut in the Australian Open 2023 Qualifiers, where he defeated Pablo Andujar in the opening round.
The Queenslander continued to rise in early 2024, qualifying for his first ATP main draw in Adelaide by overcoming two top-100 opponents. In May 2024, he broke into the ATP top 100 after securing another Challenger title in Chinese Taipei.
Reaching the top 100 is a major step for any tennis player, as it not only reflects their growing competitiveness on the world stage but also opens doors to direct entry into major tournaments without needing to qualify.
His progress was further recognised with a main-draw singles wildcard at Roland Garros 2024, marking a major milestone in his career.
Run to World No. 85
On March 31st this year, Walton earned a career-high No.85 ATP singles ranking.
At the Miami Open, he advanced to the fourth round, securing victories over Luciano Darderi, Coleman Wong Chak-lam and Mikhail Kukushkin before losing to world No. 3 Taylor Fritz. This earned him 110 ATP ranking points.
Earlier in March, at the Indian Wells Masters, Walton reached the second round, defeating Giulio Zeppieri in the first round. This performance added 50 points to his ranking tally.
Walton is currently ranked 91 in the world.