ROLAND GARROS

May 24, 2026

Nishesh Basavareddy

Press Conference

N. BASAVAREDDY/T. Fritz

7-6, 7-6, 6-7, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Congrats, Nishesh. How does it feel having done so well at Roland Garros for the first time in your career?

NISHESH BASAVAREDDY: Obviously it means a lot. I haven't had much experience on clay, so I don't know if I was really expecting this, but I still thought I'd have a good chance today if I played well, and that's what I did. So really happy to get my first win here.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. As this match unfolded, when did you start thinking you could do it today?

NISHESH BASAVAREDDY: I mean, I think before the match I was still pretty confident just because he hasn't had so many matches. I feel like I could raise my level in a match like this, but I would say midway through the second set when it was getting close to a second set tiebreak, and I was like, if I can get a 2-set and still have a lead, that's when you start thinking a little bit about finish line, but then you have to go back to game by game and not try to get ahead of yourself.

Q. How does it feel to hear somebody scream your name in the audience?

NISHESH BASAVAREDDY: That's something I definitely wasn't expecting, but the atmosphere is crazy in the end of the third set, and again in the middle of the fourth set, probably the best atmosphere I've had, the most people cheering my name.

Yeah, I'm not quite sure why they took a liking to me, but hopefully they can keep going.

Q. Your first top-10 win. I was wondering what was going through your mind after set 3? You got broken and then you broke back, and then you missed a match point. How did you recover so quickly and raise your level up so much?

NISHESH BASAVAREDDY: I took the bathroom break, tried to reset there, but honestly I wasn't too upset. I thought I'd played a pretty good third set. I just had a couple of chances, especially at 4-All, in the return game, missed a couple of easier shots, but in the tiebreak I was just hanging on by a thread.

I thought if I just kept holding serve, I would get a chance for some return. The conditions were getting a little slower, and I got a break early in the fourth set and that gave me a lot of confidence again and a jolt of energy.

Q. Your experience on clay, can you talk about it a little bit? Today there were so many dropshots, and they were so effective. Have you been using them in the lead-up in the wild card playoffs, Savannah, that much, or was it something you realized was working today, so you were just kind of riding it?

NISHESH BASAVAREDDY: I mean, that was definitely a part of the game plan today, but with more and more confidence of hitting that shot well, it just kept coming, and it worked. I mean, he was so far back, especially on return. I wanted to kind of move him up and back and make the match a little bit more linear, instead of side to side.

Yeah, after the match I think Mary Joe said I won, like, 25 of the 27, which I didn't think was that much, but it was obviously working really well. So I just kept using it, but it's probably my favorite shot.

Q. Any experience on clay? How much do you have, and how often have you played on it the last couple of years?

NISHESH BASAVAREDDY: In juniors the USTA does quite a good job now of making us train a lot on it. So in juniors I did quite a lot. But then when I went to college, I didn't play it on for three years until last year. Last year I played maybe six or seven events, but didn't go so great.

This year has been a little bit better. I've been playing for the last two months, two and a half months on it. But I think, yeah, each week you keep learning a little bit more and more about the patterns you want to play and all the -- yeah.

Q. Just on what you said about kind of feeling good about your chances going into the match, can I ask how you felt when you saw your draw? In theory, wild card, 7th seed, that's like, oh, man, tough draw. How did you feel when you saw that? Do you think, I've got a chance, I'm feeling this?

NISHESH BASAVAREDDY: I mean, of course, he's a top-10 player. He's had so many great results, but I think it just makes it a little bit easier in the sense that I'm completely the underdog. There's no, really, expectations.

It's not really like a clay court matchup. Maybe, like, you're not going to have a lot of long rallies. The conditions were going to be quite hot today, so it's going to be a lot of serving. So I felt like in terms of strategy it was going to be quite straightforward, so I think that made it a little bit easier. But of course, I knew it was going to be a tough match.

I would say -- like, I was excited for -- I knew it was going to on a bigger court, so I think that's kind of what I was thinking more, yeah.

Q. Can you talk about what made you proudest of your game today, and also a little bit about your mentality in this match?

NISHESH BASAVAREDDY: Yeah, I would say just the way I bounced back after the third set and also in the tiebreaks, kind of winning key points, big points against a player like that. I think I raised my level most of the time in the bigger moments, especially my serve. So I would say that's kind of what I was most happy about.

And the mentality, I just keep -- I was able to keep my focus throughout the match. If someone like that will keep raising his level and ask you questions, and I was able to respond quite well today.

Q. Can I ask where you learned French and where you learned your ball toss? It looked like you were flicking your wrist or it was coming off the heel of your palm. Am I seeing something correctly there, that it's a little bit different?

NISHESH BASAVAREDDY: Yeah, I think it used to be even more. When I see pictures, it's like I release it a little bit funny, but that just kind of came natural to me, I guess, since I was younger.

For French, I mean, I was working with a French coach earlier this year, so I was taking classes for five months. I've still done them maybe, like, once in the last month. I've done it much less, but I would say I'm conversational sort of, so (laughing)...

Yeah, it's good to use it here.

Q. What are your biggest goals for the future ahead?

NISHESH BASAVAREDDY: What are my biggest goals?

Q. Yeah, for the future in tennis.

NISHESH BASAVAREDDY: That's a pretty big question, but I think right now I just want to see how far I can go and be the best player I can. But, of course, if that means having deep runs in Grand Slams, being ranked top 20, top 10, I don't know. I don't know where it will take me, but, yeah, just try to do everything I can to be the best player I can.

Q. Just out of curiosity, I wonder how you feel the adjustment to the pro game has been since college? I mean, dipping into the top 100 quickly kind of put you in the spotlight a bit, and since then it's been probably a little bit more of a grind for you. How have you been living through this last year, and how do you feel about your progress overall?

NISHESH BASAVAREDDY: Yeah, of course, at the beginning everything was going really well, winning a lot of matches in the Challengers. I had a good breakout in my first 250 slam as well last year, and then slowed down a little bit when we switched surfaces to clay and grass.

I think it was all, yeah, important to learn that. I definitely didn't expect it, but I think every player has their own sort of journey, sort of path. I think it definitely taught me a lot about who I need around me, what types of scheduling I need to do, what I need to improve on.

I think it definitely was eye-opening to start, I guess, losing so much and then kind of figure out how to improve again. Now I feel like I'm on the right trajectory, so it's been better.

Q. I wanted to see if you could clarify for me a little bit about your relationship with Gilles Cervara, how it went and how it ended. What is your coaching setup now? Is it primarily you and Dean and USTA coaching?

NISHESH BASAVAREDDY: Yeah, Gilles and I ended after Houston this year, and then the USTA has been helping me since then. Dean Goldfine, David Nainkin, they've both kind of been traveling with me the last two months or so, one of them.

I've been training more in the USTA in Orlando, as well. It's been great to have all of their support and with the wild card as well here.

Q. Any thoughts on the next match against Michelsen or Shevchenko? Any preference of who you would like to play?

NISHESH BASAVAREDDY: No, Michelsen is obviously ranked higher, but Shevchenko is probably a little bit more clay-courter.

Michelsen, I've known him for a long time. We've already played, I don't know, six times in our life, a couple of times on pro tour. So I definitely know him better. That would be a fun match. Yeah, I don't think there's a real preference here.