Who is Nishesh Basavareddy, who took a set off Djokovic in Australian Open?

There was no twist to the script as Novak Djokovic began his quest for his 11^th title at the Australian Open on Monday, 13 January, but his young first-round opponent still grabbed a big share of the eyeballs. Enter Nishesh Basavareddy, the 19-year-old American of Indian origin, a wild card who took the first set (6-4) off one of the all time greats before cramps hampered his performance and allowed Djokovic to claw back into the game.

The Indian surname evoked a huge amount of interest among the diaspora and social media, but Nishesh is very much a product of the US collegiate tennis system who studied on a scholarship at Stanford University. Born in Newport Beach, California to parents who hail from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, Nishesh has been under the grooming of Rajeev Ram – the doubles specialist who was at his corner with the family at the Rod Laver Arena.

The heavy backhand, a solid baseline game bore the signature that the youngster must have modelled his game on the Serbian. No wonder, Nishesh admitted it later: “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.”

Djokovic, who at 37 years is looking to gatecrash at a party which now belongs to the Sinner, Alcaraz & Co, was liberal with his praise for Nishesh. “He (Basavareddy) was the better player for a set and a half and deserves all the applause that he got. 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.”

 Picking up the sport at the age of eight when his family moved to Carmel, a town in central Indiana, he soon came under the fold of 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.

 “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 said in August when his protege played in the qualification round of the 2024 US Open.

A college scholarship to attend Stanford University had Neeshesh playing in the Division 1 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) programme. 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.

 The new year started on a promising note for him where he qualified for the main draw in Brisbane and made the semi-finals at Auckland – both tune-up tournaments for the Australian Open and carried his confidence in Melbourne.

 The high physical toll and nervous energy caused some cramping for the American midway through the second set from where Djokovic took control. However, it was a baptism by fire which saw Nishesh making his mark in what could be the beginning of a long journey.