French Open, Day 1 Highlights: Basavareddy stuns Taylor Fritz, Djokovic into 2nd round

Nole fans, rejoice! The two-time champion saw off a stiff threat from 22-year-old local hope Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the opening round of the men’s singles competition at the 2026 French Open on Sunday, 24 May. The 39-year-old looked happy and comfortable at the end of a gruelling two-hour-and-51-minute encounter on Court Philippe Chatrier in Paris.

The win came hours after seventh seed Taylor Fritz was dumped out by compatriot Nishesh Basavareddy in the opening round at Roland Garros.

There were lingering concerns about a nagging shoulder injury that had derailed his preparation for the clay-court Grand Slam; however, Djokovic brushed aside those fears. He celebrated with a light-hearted, peppy on-court dance after weathering Mpetshi Perricard's storm in four sets, recovering from a set down to claim the opening round 5-7, 7-5, 6-1, 6-4.

Read our report on Djokovic's win here. 

Novak Djokovic has beaten G Mpetshi Perricard in the second set of Round 1.

Djokovic wrestles back to break late in the 2nd set and win 7-5 against the unseeded French star. The duo have already played for two hours.

Djokovic 5-7, 7-5 Perricard after 1 hour and 52 minutes in Round 1.

Is this going to be a day of upsets or what?

Nishesh Basavareddy might have stunned Taylor Fritz in the first round, but his idol Novak Djokovic has lost the opening set against France's G Mpetshi Perricard.

It took 31 minutes for the French player to beat the third-seed Djokovic 7-5 in the first round of the match.

• Basavareddy was born in Newport Beach, California, in 2005 to Indian parents from Nellore, Andhra Pradesh - Sai Prasanna and Muralikrishna Basavareddy. His family later settled in Indiana.
• His father, a tennis enthusiast, introduced him and his older brother Nishanth to the sport at a young age. He trained under coach Bryan Smith and also received mentorship from former doubles World No. 1 Rajeev Ram.
• Basavareddy had an excellent junior career, reaching World No. 3 in juniors and winning the 2022 Junior US Open boys’ doubles title with Ozan Baris.
• His journey was not smooth — he underwent knee surgeries in 2016 and 2018 but fought back strongly.
• In 2024, he broke through professionally by winning Challenger titles in Puerto Vallarta and Tiburon. He also reached four other finals and climbed from ATP No. 457 to No. 138 within a year.
• Before turning pro, he played college tennis at Stanford University, where he balanced academics and athletics successfully.
• Basavareddy had Djokovic’s photo as his WhatsApp display picture and called him his favourite player growing up.
• At the 2025 Australian Open, Basavareddy stunned many by taking the first set against Djokovic before eventually losing in four sets. Djokovic later praised him as a “complete player” with a bright future.

The first upset of the French Open has come on the very first day.

Nishesh Basavareddy stuns Taylor Fritz in the opening round of the tournament.

The Indian origin player has beaten 7th seed Fritz 7-6(7), 7-6(7), 6-7(11), 6-1 in a match that lasted for 3 hours and 22 minutes.

The crowd his giving Basavareddy a standing ovation. They are chanting 'Nishesh, Nishesh'.

This is Basavareddy's first French Open main draw match and he has stunned Fritz in a four-set game.

He says in the on-court interview that this is the biggest win of his career. 

Nishesh Basavareddy is on the brink of the biggest win of his career. What a result would this be for the Indian origin player if he beats one of the top 10s in the world.

Taylor Fritz looks rattled in the fourth set.

Nishesh Basavareddy is just a game away from a huge moment in his career.

He leads Taylor Fritz 5-0 in the fourth set and it looks like he will finish the job 3 sets to 1 in the first round of the French Open.

The Indian origin player continues to trouble the 7th seed.

Basavareddy is showing some beautiful touches at the net and has already taken a 2-0 lead against Fritz in the 4th set of the match.

It is an impeccable serve and volley at the moment.

A warcry from the seventh seed here. He has put everything into that set and Basavareddy kept coming back for more. He wins the tiebreaker 11-9 and the third set 7-6. The advantage is still with the wildcard here. We could be in for a five-setter here. 

Taylor Fritz' resilience is being pushed to its limits here by Nishesh Basavareddy. Three times he got to set point in the tiebreaker and the wildcard has pulled things back once again. It is end to end stuff at the moment. 

The wildcard is making heads turn here. Taylor Fritz was able to pull the game into a tiebreaker, but Basavareddy holds his nerve once again and wins it 7-6. An upset is on the cards and it seems like Basavareddy is set to produce a statement win at Roland Garros. 

Nishesh Basavareddy you beauty! The wildcard has taken the first set against the seventh seed Fritz in a tiebreaker to take the lead in the first round clash. The first serve win percentage is 90 for Basavareddy, who looks the part at the moment and will be aiming for a major upset. 

A regulation win for Mirra Andreeva in the end as she breezes past France's Fiona Ferro. Andreeva wins the match 6-3, 6-3. She had a 74 win percentage off the first serve to secure a dominant performance where both women didn't put in a single ace. 

The No.8 seed Mirra Andreeva has won the first set against Ferro and looks to be set to make into the next round. She now takes a 3-1 lead in the second set and it seems to be a formality at the moment. 

Alexander Zverev completes a three-set win to make it to the second round of the French Open. Zverev beat Bonzi 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to move to the next round. 

Zverev is making light work of Bonzi at the moment as he goes 2-0 up in the first round, winning the second set 6-4. He will look for a quick start to finish the game off and move to the next round. 

How important is that going to be? Zverev didn't have the best of starts to the second game but he is able to bounce back and get the break in the second game to take the lead. 

Score: Zverev leads 6-3, 3-2

A clinical performance from the No.2 seed as he cruises past Bonzi to take the first set 6-3. Bonzi has comeback strongly taking the first game of the second set but the advantage still remains with the German.