After Nishesh Basavareddy, 19, faced some cramping and physical issues, Djokovic raised his level to win the match 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2. (AP)
With former rival Andy Murray in his corner, Novak Djokovic’s bid to rebuild his form and create more history at the venue at which he has won 10 of his 24 Grand Slam titles, was one of the major storylines heading into this year’s Australian Open.
Within the first hour of his first round match on Sunday, the rebuild ran into trouble. The breakthrough American prospect, Nishesh Basavareddy, with Indian heritage, led his idol and the player he has modelled his game after, by one set at his favourite hunting ground — night-time at Rod Laver Arena.
After Basavareddy, 19, faced some cramping and physical issues, Djokovic raised his level to win the match 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2. But the competitive contest would confirm two things: that Djokovic’s game remains far from the celestial heights it has often reached in Melbourne Park, and that Basavareddy’s promising game may be one to watch for the future.
Djokovic certainly thinks so. “He (Basavareddy) was the better player for a set and a half and deserves all the applause that he got,” he said on court. “Just a very complete player. Very pleasantly surprised me with all his shots and the fighting spirit he showed so I wish him all the best.”
The 19-year-old’s parents hail from Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, and moved to San Francisco back in 1999. Basavareddy was born in Newport Beach, California, and at the age of eight, he moved to Carmel, a town in central Indiana.
Basavareddy would pick up tennis in Carmel, and would soon come under the tutelage of Rajeev Ram — the six-time men’s doubles Grand Slam winner who is a fellow Indian-origin American and graduated from the same high school. The teenager has also received two grants from Ram’s foundations.
Praise doesn’t get much higher 🤝@DjokerNole is full of admiration for Nishesh following their first round encounter 🫡#AusOpen • #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/mIDltHGWfD
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 13, 2025
“We’ve formed a pretty neat bond as two kids from this town, both of Indian-American heritage, trying to make it in professional tennis,” Ram told WTHR in August, when Basavareddy competed in the qualification round of the 2024 US Open.
The promising American would accept college scholarship to attend Stanford University, and played in the Division 1 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) program. During his two years at University, he impressed at the lower-rung Challenger tour and decided to turn pro, shortly after which he qualified for last year’s NextGen ATP Finals in Jeddah.
Dream start 🌙
On Grand Slam main draw debut, Nishesh Basavareddy secures the opening set 6-4 against Novak Djokovic on Rod Laver Arena! 😳#AusOpen • #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/xe0jqmg7r6
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 13, 2025
2025 has already been promising, with main draw qualifications in Brisbane and Auckland (where he reached the semifinal), but a statement was made against Djokovic on Monday. Basavareddy holds the Serb as his idol — he was born a few months after Djokovic’s Grand Slam debut. “My favourite has always been Djokovic. I’ve looked up to a lot of different players and modelled my game after a lot of players, but he’s been my favourite,” he was quoted as saying by Reuters.
And the opening exchanges of their match — Basavareddy’s Grand Slam debut — would make that obvious. The American’s heavy backhand, solid baseline game and return strategies were straight out of the Djokovic playbook, and while the Serb may have been flat in the opening set, it was Basavareddy who was extracting errors and taking control by moving him across the court.
The high physical toll and nervous energy caused some cramping for the American midway through the second set, from where Djokovic took control. It’s the kind of lesson teenagers often learn facing the greats on the biggest stages of the sport. But there was plenty to write home about the young American’s game that may suggest he may pull away from the journeyman status that often surrounds first-round losers at the Majors.
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