Nishesh Vasavareddy made a memorable French Open debut on Sunday as the world No. 148 American beat compatriot Taylor Fritz, No. 9 and No. 7 seed, in the first round.
The pair went into a tiebreak after three consecutive sets. Basaba Reddy held a 2-1 lead entering the fourth inning, but Basava Reddy achieved a resounding victory 7-6 (7), 7-6 (7), 6-7 (11), 6-1 to seal the upset.
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Basavalady, a 21-year-old former Stanford University player, advanced to the second round with a stunning upset in her first main draw at Roland Garros.
Fritz became a top 10 seed for the first time at Roland Garros. In 2025, he lost to fourth-seeded Daniel Altmaier (Germany), and has since lost in the first round two years in a row.
Fritz has played in just one match in the past two months, losing in straight sets to Australia’s Alexei Popyrin on Wednesday. He has been sidelined with tendinitis in his knee, and his round-of-16 loss at the Geneva Open was his only warm-up on clay before Sunday’s play at Roland Garros.
His last performance was against Basaba Reddy, who won the USTA Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge in early May and earned a spot as a wild card.
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Basavareddy was the better player in the early clutches, winning tiebreaks in each of the first two sets. The pair battled to 6-6 in the third set, with Basavareddy leading 3-0 in the tie-break and on the verge of a sweep.
Fritz fought back to force a 3-3 tiebreak, then held off a match point to win 11-9 and take the fourth set in a row.
But after a tough first three sets, there was little more for Fritz.
Basavalady broke Fritz twice and led 5-0 in the fourth. Fritz then hit Basavalady’s serve into the net on match point, giving Basavalady a four-set victory, his first top-10 victory, and the first American victory over a top-10 opponent at Roland Garros since 2000.
“What a great game,” Basavareddy said in an on-court interview. “Taylor is obviously a great player, so I’m very happy that I was able to get through that, especially after losing the third set. My first French Open main draw, and all the support, it’s incredible.”
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Basavalady will face the winner of American Alex Michelsen and Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko in the second round.
