In the first round of the 2025 Australian Open, American teenager Nishesh Basavareddy attempts to do something only three American tennis players have done before him. That is defeating Novak Djokovic in a Grand Slam.
As his stellar resume and 1,123 ATP tour wins show, Djokovic has been virtually unbeatable for over 20 years. He has lost only 223 matches giving him an 83% winning ratio.
Three of those losses came on the racquets of Americans at Grand Slam tournaments over 10 years between 2006 and 2016. Basavareddy has first-hand knowledge of the first player to do it in 2006. It was his Stanford tennis coach and former ATP player Paul Goldstein. (The other two were Andy Roddick in 2009 and Sam Querrey in 2016.)
Great stat from ESPN: Djokovic hadn’t lost a set in #AusOpen first round since 2006 vs Paul Goldstein, 41 straight (they are correct, and Djokovic lost that match in 4)
— Trenton Jocz (@TrentonJocz) January 20, 2020
Nishesh Basavareddy just turned pro in December 2024. He graduated high school at the age of 17 and played two seasons of college tennis under Goldstein at Stanford. Upon learning his somewhat unlucky fate of facing Djokovic in the first round of the Australian Open, Basavareddy reportedly called his former college coach. Whether Goldstein shared tips with him or just enjoyed catching up with Basavareddy is unknown.
Awards season continues 🚨
Nishesh Basavareddy ➡️ @ITA_Tennis Northwest Region Rookie of the Year
Paul Goldstein ➡️ @ITA_Tennis Northwest Region Coach of the Year#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/QIScKiWq1v— Stanford Men’s Tennis (@StanfordTennis) June 6, 2023
Basavareddy is hitting the ground running. He made his first career semifinal at the ASB Classic. Basavareddy played a good semifinal match against Gael Monfils but fell short.
He can now make the four-hour plane ride to Melbourne from Auckland, New Zealand, and focus on trying to do the unthinkable, beat the 10-time Australian Open champion in the first round just like his former coach did.
