Chilli-loving, Tollywood-watching: Nishesh Basavareddy's Australian Open journey

MELBOURNE: How much spice does Nishesh Basavareddy enjoy in his food?


The Indian-American, whose parents hail from Hyderabad and Nellore, answered with a grin, leaning on the adverb for emphasis. “Very,” he said. Think Guntur red chilli chicken or Nellore fish curry.



That was also the level of tennis the world No. 242 served up at Melbourne Park on Tuesday.

Basavareddy, the chilli-eating, Tollywood-watching 20-year-old, has been grinding his way through the Australian Open. It began in qualifying, where he clawed back from 1-7 down in the deciding match tie-break against Austria’s Sebastian Ofner. In the first round of the main draw, on a relatively cool day on the grounds, the qualifier was tested again. Facing Australian Chris O’Connell, he rallied from two sets to one down to seal his maiden Grand Slam match win, closing out his first five-setter at the ANZ Arena.

Basavareddy, who studied data science at Stanford University for two years before turning professional in December 2024, took the fight to the tour regular from Sydney. The seasoned 31-year-old tried to make things physical, while the younger challenger looked to shorten points, stay fearless in big moments and prove his qualifying form wasn’t a one-week spike.

The Aussie, egged on by the show-court crowd, blinked in the eighth game of the fifth set while serving at 3-4, 40-15. His opponent, taking the ball on the rise and swinging freely, hunted quick points in a drawn-out game. Basavareddy reeled off the next eight points to close out a 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-3 victory in four hours and 11-minutes.

The win set up a second-round meeting with world No. 18 Karen Khachanov, who beat him in the first round of the US Open.

Basavareddy, from Carmel, Indiana, the son of Murali Reddy, who works in the tech industry, and Sai Prasanna, a homemaker, had a brief run-in with the home fans during the third set, but downplayed the exchange.

“It was great atmosphere, but some kids were just saying stuff, so I asked them to calm down,” Basavareddy said of the moment in the third set tie-break when he let his irritation show. “It was all good, they were respectful afterwards. It was packed from start to finish, and it is really nice playing in front of the crowd. In college (in the United States) it is much worse at times.”

There were subtle but significant differences in the way Basavareddy played, not just on Tuesday, but even through the qualifiers, compared to last year, his first season as a pro. The 20-year-old was no longer just trying to win points, he was finding ways to stay in the match.

Basavareddy is playing his first tournament under Frenchman Gilles Cervara, who previously coached Daniil Medvedev.

“He’s diligent, keen on all the details, I think that's one thing that I've already picked up a lot on, whether it's like warm-ups, fitness, pre-match rituals, all that sort of stuff, mentally, how to prepare for a match,” Basavareddy said of Cervara. “Also managing a match, I'm really happy with the way I have competed in the last couple matches, that's due to him as well.”

“I was looking for a coach to start travelling and after he split from Daniil after the US Open we shot him a message, and luckily he was interested as well. I'm glad it worked out,” he said, “He's obviously had a lot of experience. So I thought that would be very useful for me at this stage of my career.”

On a day when the top players showed form, two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner advanced when his opponent Hugo Gaston retired due to illness when trailing 2-6, 1-6. American ninth seed Taylor Fritz stopped Frenchman Valentin Royer 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-1, 6-3.



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