“Nishesh! Nishesh!” rang around Court Suzanne Lenglen as the Paris crowd rose to salute Indian-origin American Nishesh Basavareddy after a stunning first-round upset at Roland Garros.
The Parisian clay has long been known for its theatre, but few inside the grounds of Roland Garros could have anticipated the dramatic script that unfolded on opening Sunday. In what is already being hailed as the first monumental shock of the 2026 French Open, American wild card Basavareddy stunned his higher-ranked compatriot, seventh seed Taylor Fritz, in a gruelling four-set battle: 7-6(5), 7-6(5), 6-7(9), 6-1.
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Ranked 148th in the world, the 21-year-old former Stanford University collegiate star was expected to be a manageable opening-round assignment for Fritz. Instead, Basavareddy dismantled the former world number four with a dazzling display of tactical variety, repeatedly unsettling the top-ten seed with perfectly disguised drop shots and fearless shot-making.
This was not Basavareddy’s first brush with the spotlight. Earlier this year, the Indian-origin American announced himself on the big stage by pushing his idol Novak Djokovic in the opening round of the Australian Open on his Grand Slam debut. Though he eventually lost in four sets, he earned a standing ovation for his fearless tennis and remarkable resilience, with Djokovic later admitting the youngster had pleasantly surprised him with his fighting spirit.
But Paris felt like the true breakthrough.
When Fritz finally ran out of steam in the fourth set, succumbing to Basavareddy’s relentless pressure, the atmosphere inside Suzanne Lenglen turned electric.
The notoriously demanding Parisian crowd, swept away by the audacity of the underdog, delivered a thunderous standing ovation before breaking into chants of “Nishesh! Nishesh!” The arena transformed into a cauldron of celebration for the young American of Indian origin, who had just secured the biggest win of his career — his first top-10 victory — and become the first American man to achieve the feat at Roland Garros since 2000.
Clearly moved by the warmth of the French public, Basavareddy won over the crowd even further during his post-match on-court interview.
Recognising the local custom, he addressed them in French.
“Merci beaucoup tous,” Basavareddy said, smiling as cheers rang out. “C’est incroyable de jouer ici devant vous. Merci pour tout votre soutien aujourd’hui.”
(Thank you very much everyone. It is incredible to play here in front of you. Thank you for all your support today.)
Switching back to English, the youngster admitted he was still struggling to process the moment.
“This is definitely the biggest win of my career,” he said.
“First French Open main draw, and all this support — it is simply incredible.”
Before walking off to another wave of applause, Basavareddy made one final charming appeal to the Paris faithful.
“I am going to need all of you out here again,” he said, looking ahead to his second-round match.
Fritz arrived in Paris short on match practice, having played just one tournament since Miami because of a knee injury, but Basavareddy took full advantage to script history.
For a player who once had Djokovic’s photo as his WhatsApp display picture, Paris may have just marked the moment admiration gave way to arrival.
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