Tennis-US teen Basavareddy breaks new ground ahead of Djokovic match-up

By Shrivathsa Sridhar

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Moments after Nishesh Basavareddy reached his first ATP semi-final at the Auckland Classic on Thursday, the American teenager named Novak Djokovic as his favourite player and said he had modelled his game after the 24-times Grand Slam champion.

The 19-year-old will get the chance to show Djokovic how much he has learned from him after he was lined up to face the Serb in the first round of the Australian Open when the draw for the Melbourne Park major was made later in the day.

“My favourite has always been Djokovic,” said Basavareddy, who rallied to beat Alex Michelsen 2-6 6-2 6-4 in the Grand Slam tune-up event.

“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.”

Basavareddy’s strong return game has perhaps unfairly been compared to Djokovic’s but the youngster with Indian roots has built a reputation on the ATP Challenger Tour by winning two titles and reaching four more finals last season.

Those results prompted the Stanford University student to turn professional in December but even he could not have foreseen his rise after becoming the youngest American to reach a tour-level hardcourt semi-final since an 18-year-old Reilly Opelka in 2016.

“It means a lot,” said Basavareddy, who is ranked 133rd in the world.

“This is one of my first tour events and to make a deep run gives me a lot of confidence going forward. Hopefully I can keep pushing on.”

His immediate focus will be a rematch against Gael Monfils, another of the elite tour’s veterans, who beat him in the opening round at Brisbane last week.

“I’m the underdog. These guys have more pressure and more points to defend. I’m playing loose and free so that helps me a lot,” said Basavareddy, who upset defending champion Alejandro Tabilo in the second round.

“I’ve been getting a lot of messages. This is the first time a lot of my friends and family are seeing me play on TV, so it’s something new.”

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar; Editing by Peter Rutherford)