Nishesh Basavareddy could hardly have asked for a more exciting start to his Australian Open career.
The 19-year-old American will take on 10-time champion Novak Djokovic on Monday at Melbourne Park. Competing in his first main-draw match at a major would have represented a milestone moment for Basvareddy no matter the opponent, but he now knows he will face one of his childhood idols.
“I’ve hit on Arthur Ashe, I will hit on Laver [before the match], so I’ll use that experience a little bit, but I think it will be really cool to just take in the whole moment,” Basavareddy told ATPTour.com ahead of his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Djokovic. “Hopefully it is a packed crowd. This is where you dream about playing as a little kid.”
Basavareddy has seen Djokovic up close before: he was a tournament hitting partner at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals, where the Serbian triumphed. Although he did not share a practice court with Djokovic during that week in Turin, it remained a highly formative experience for Basavareddy, who was playing college tennis at the time.
“The [Nitto ATP Finals] is the highest-level event there is in tennis,” reflected the former Stanford University Cardinal standout. “The top eight guys at that time, seeing them in person was almost a little [surreal], because that is the first time I had seen a lot of those guys. Now to be here about a year later, is definitely a little surreal. But I think that week gave me a lot of confidence, seeing that the level wasn’t as far as I thought it was. I think that was huge for me.”
Basavareddy did not have to think long when asked about the Djokovic matches he remembers most: The Serbian’s 2019 Wimbledon final win against Roger Federer, and his five-hour, 53-minute 2012 Australian Open championship-match victory against Rafael Nadal. Basavareddy was only six years old when that match took place.
“I just remember how much mental strength both those guys had to fight for that whole match, and also them cramping in the post-match celebrations,” he said. “Obviously it was a painful moment for them, but I also think it was a pretty cool moment for tennis fans to see how much they had put into it.”
Djokovic also came up when Basavareddy was put to the test by ATPTour.com’s quickfire off-court Q & A. Which of the Serbian's matches does the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF competitor wish he could have played? And which baseball star would he happily accept as a tour guide? Read on to find out more about the #NextGenATP star.
If you could have dinner with any three people, who would they be and why?
Novak [Djokovic], LeBron [James]… I’m trying to think of a businessman or something like that… But I'll skip that and go Roger [Federer]. Three great athletes that I can ask a lot of questions to.
If you could switch places with one person for the day, who would it be and why?
Maybe Shohei Ohtani. He’s a pretty famous person and Japan's a pretty cool country. Maybe he'd show me a good time.
Is there any particular match from the past that makes you wish you could have been the one who had played it?
Maybe Djokovic [against Alcaraz] at the Paris Olympics. I think winning a gold medal is really cool, the way he's able to do that in that atmosphere. I think that'd be really cool to win a gold medal.
Is there anything cool you've done off court that you've only done because you're a tennis player?
I think just visiting all sorts of places. I've never really done vacations outside of tennis. I was able to go to Lake Como, which is one of the best places I've been to, or last year I went to Chile and did dune buggies in the desert there. I don’t think I would have done that if it wasn't for tennis. So it's all the different experiences I've had.
What are your biggest hobbies away from tennis?
I like to play video games on my phone, and maybe get into some more PlayStation. I like to watch TV. I just finished Outer Banks, that was good, or White Collar was good as well. I also do a little bit of go-karting at home, sometimes that’s fun. I also like to watch different sports.
What is your dream day without tennis?
To visit a cool place. I like sightseeing and seeing different things.
You travel with tennis a lot. If you could visit one place just for vacation, where would it be?
I haven't really been in Asia, so maybe Japan or Korea. I’ve heard those places are nice.
© Copyright 1994 - 2024 ATP Tour, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this site may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way or by any means (including photocopying, recording or storing it in any medium by electronic means), without the written permission of ATP Tour, Inc.. Terms & Conditions | Privacy | Community Social Media Policy | Modern Slavery Statement | Feedback | Cookies
