‘Nishesh killed me with drop shots’ Fritz after French Open defeat

Nishesh Basavareddy celebrates a point against Taylor Fritz at the French Open in Paris on Sunday. Pics/AFP

After Taylor Fritz suffered a first-round exit at Roland Garros following a shocking 7-6(5), 7-6(5), 6-7(9), 6-1 defeat at the hands of countryman Nishesh Basavareddy, he stayed upbeat despite the loss, saying his level was not that bad but the Indian American "cooked him" with his drop shots.

In his first appearance in the main draw of a clay court major, the American wild card Basavareddy prevailed on his fourth match point after a titanic fight against his compatriot, securing his first victory at Roland Garros and his first win against a Top 10 player, becoming the first American to achieve this "double" in Paris since 1996 when Chris Woodruff had then beaten Andre Agassi.

Taylor Fritz

In the pair's first ATP head-to-head meeting, Basavareddy often put the seventh seed on the back foot with pinpoint backhand accuracy and deft drop shots. "He just played incredibly well," Fritz said of Basavareddy.

"The biggest thing was just the drop shots were crazy. Typically when someone is drop-shotting me too much, I kind of just tell myself, ‘Okay, I need to hit the ball deeper.' He was hitting insane drop shots, off balls that were landing on the baseline. He killed me with that, and there's not really much I can do about it. He really cooked me with the drop shots today. I was very impressed with his feel," he added.

For the second year in a row Fritz, the No. 7 seed, was eliminated in the first round at Roland Garros. Despite his defeat, he showed promise, putting up a strong fight, notably saving a match point in the third-set tiebreak. Basavareddy, on the other hand, admitted that it is the biggest win of his career. "Definitely," he told the crowd, after thanking them in French at the start of his interview.

"What a match. Taylor's obviously a great player, so super happy to get through that, especially after losing the third set. First French Open main draw, and all the support, it's incredible," Basavareddy added. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic survived a stern opening-round test when he rallied to defeat Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 5-7, 7-5, 6-1, 6-4. In another match, Iga Swiatek easily defeated Australian teenager Emerson Jones 6-1, 6-2.

Nishesh Basavareddy's parents hail from Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, and moved to San Francisco in 1999. Basavareddy was born in Newport Beach, California, and at the age of eight, he moved to Carmel, a town in central Indiana, where he first picked up tennis.

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