Halys happy to have escaped a hostile atmosphere: "They weren't necessarily very respectful all the time".

Quentin Halys made it through to the 1st round of the Australian Open by upsetting Australian Adam Walton (4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6, 7-5) in five sets after trailing two sets to nil.

A fine achievement for the Frenchman, ranked 76th in the world, who had never before won a Grand Slam match by overcoming a two-set handicap.

After the victory, Halys spoke of the difficult atmosphere he had to contend with: "I knew I was going to give it my all, but it was hard to find my way back.

I came up against a player who was serving very well in a slightly 'crazy' atmosphere.

The stadium was tough, frankly, they made a lot of noise. They weren't necessarily very respectful all the time.

It wasn't easy, but I'm glad I hung in there.

I returned better as the match went on and my serve helped me a lot. I was able to put him under pressure and I played a very good tie-break in the 4th set.

I had the feeling I'd gone after him more towards the end. It'll go down as a benchmark match in terms of effort management and attitude."