Indian-American Nishesh Basavareddy stuns Taylor Fritz in massive French Open upset

PARIS: Nishesh Basavareddy’s focus never flickered across more than three hours on Court Suzanne Lenglen. The Indian-American didn’t turn on himself, his racket, his team, the court or the crowd. Against seventh seed Taylor Fritz in the opening round of the French Open, the 21-year-old remained locked in from the first ball.He feathered nearly 30 winning drop shots, disrupting the rhythm and balance of the exchange, especially for an opponent standing 6 ft 5’. Late in the third set, as the Paris light began to soften, Basavareddy sprinted across the clay and ripped a short crosscourt winner off an attempted Fritz drop shot. Lenglen erupted. The world No. 148, in the draw on a wildcard, raised his arms and asked for more. Then, when he clawed back in the third-set tiebreak, they began chanting his name.Basavareddy, who watched three match points slip away, the first in that third-set breaker, still did not waver. He took a toilet break and reset, returning to the court to finish what he had started earlier in the evening.Chants of “Nishesh, Nishesh” echoed around the grounds late on Sunday after he sealed the tournament’s first major upset with a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5), 6-7 (9), 6-1 victory, becoming the first American man in 26 years to beat a top-10 opponent at Roland Garros.The applause hit another level when Basavareddy addressed the crowd in French during his on-court interview.“Thank you for coming, merci beaucoup,” he said, having picked up the language earlier this year while working with French coach Gilles Cervara, and the crowd returned the affection.The American, born in Newport Beach and raised in Carmel, transitioned swiftly to the pro tour after two years in Stanford where he studied data science. He began the 2024 season ranked No. 457 and finished it at No. 138 after a rousing run on the Challenger Tour, where he reached six finals, won two titles and compiled a 41-13 record.Then came a slump few saw coming. After reaching the semifinals in Auckland at an ATP 250 event and taking a set off Novak Djokovic in the first round at Melbourne Park last January, he did not win another main-draw match until July.Basavareddy, who is 5ft 11’, travelled with his family during his breakout season. Father Murali, who works in the tech industry, older brother Nishanth, who majored in information systems, and mother Sai Prasanna. Following three successive losses later in the season, he hired Gilles Cervara, former coach of Daniil Medvedev. The partnership began promisingly, but the two split in April without much of an explanation.Basavareddy, who now travels with USTA coaches Dean Goldfine and David Nainkin, said the past year had taught him a great deal. “It definitely taught me a lot about who I need around me,” he said.“In the beginning it was not easy,” he said. “Maybe I expected to keep winning matches and keep going up and up, but that's not how it works, especially in tennis. This year I've been doing a better job of dealing with that. It'll take time, maybe, for me, compared to other players. The last year was definitely grounding.”In the second round on Wednesday, Basavareddy will face 6 ft 4’ American Alex Michelsen, an opponent he has known since their junior days. The two 21-year-olds are tied 1-1 in their head-to-head in Tour-level matches.Michelsen, ranked No. 42, was asked about playing Basavareddy. “We played our first match when we were probably eight or nine years old. It's funny we're getting to play here at a Grand Slam,” he said. “I remember one time, the week I broke into the top 100, I played him and I didn't miss a ball. We were talking and laughing about it. I couldn't miss a ball that day, sometimes you have to do that to beat a player like Nishesh.”