Indian American Nishesh Basavareddy stuns Taylor Fritz in major French Open upset

• Nishesh Basavareddy defeated seventh-seed Taylor Fritz.
• The 21-year-old won his first French Open main draw match.
• Basavareddy earned his first career top-10 victory.
• Fritz became the first top seed eliminated from the tournament.
• Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev also advanced.

Nishesh Basavareddy earned the biggest win of his career after defeating fellow American Taylor Fritz in the first round of the French Open 2026 at Roland Garros.

The 21-year-old wild card player stunned the seventh-seeded Fritz in a dramatic four-set match on the opening day of the tournament.

Basavareddy, ranked No. 148 in the world, faced a difficult challenge against the higher-ranked Fritz. The first three sets were closely contested and pushed both players to their limits.

However, Basavareddy managed to win the first two sets in tie-breaks before Fritz fought back to take the third set.

The young American then completely dominated the fourth set to secure the victory.

Basavareddy won the match 7-6(5), 7-6(5), 6-7(9), 6-1 on Court Suzanne-Lenglen in two hours and 45 minutes.

The victory marked Basavareddy’s first-ever win in the main draw of the French Open.

It was also his first career victory against a top-10 player.

Basavareddy’s parents moved to the United States from Telangana in India. He was born in California and has been considered one of the rising stars in American tennis.

The young player earned his place in the tournament after winning the USTA’s Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge.

After the match, Basavareddy described the victory as the biggest moment of his career.

“Definitely,” he said when asked if it was his greatest victory. “What a match. Taylor’s obviously a great player, so I’m super happy to get through that, especially after losing the third set. First French Open main draw, and all the support. It’s incredible.”

The victory also placed Basavareddy in the history books. He became the first American player since 2000 to defeat a top-10 opponent at Roland Garros.

Basavareddy will now face the winner of the first-round match between Alex Michelsen and Alexander Shevchenko in the second round.

For Fritz, the loss marked an early and disappointing exit from the tournament.

The American entered the French Open with limited preparation after dealing with a knee injury before arriving in Paris.

Fritz also became the first top-seeded player to be eliminated from this year’s tournament.

Elsewhere at Roland Garros, Novak Djokovic survived a difficult opening-round challenge to keep alive his hopes of winning a record 25th Grand Slam title.

Djokovic lost the opening set against France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard before recovering strongly to win the match.

The Serbian star defeated Perricard 5-7, 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 in a match that lasted just under three hours.

Djokovic’s comeback victory allowed him to continue his campaign for another major title at the French Open.

Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev had a much more comfortable start to the tournament.

The German player cruised past France’s Benjamin Bonzi in straight sets.

Zverev won the match 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to move easily into the next round.

Basavareddy’s upset victory over Fritz quickly became one of the biggest stories from the opening day of the French Open 2026 and brought major attention to the Indian-origin American player as he continues his rise in professional tennis.