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 Roland Garros.
On the same day Walton pulled off a massive first-round upset defeating top 10-ranked Daniil Medvedev 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.
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.
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Pegula dominated the opening frame and broke Birrell's serve four times to take the first set in just 24 minutes.
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.
She consolidated the break and closed the second set 6-3 and continued the intensity into the third, dropping just three games.
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.
"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.
"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.
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"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."
The stunning result came hours after Walton eliminated Medvedev in a gruelling five-set marathon.
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.
"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.
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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.
Walton revealed a previous encounter against the Russian played a massive role in his mental preparation.
"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.
"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.
"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.
"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."
The match lasted more than three hours in the intense Parisian heat.
"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.
"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."
While Walton celebrates his career moment, it was a different story for fellow Australian Alexei Popyrin.
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.
