(May 24, 2026) Former Stanford University player and American Nishesh Basavareddy produced the first major upset at Roland-Garros in 2026, in his first appearance at the French Open.
The 21-year-old wild card, ranked No.148, upset No. 7 Taylor Fritz 7-6(5), 7-6(5), 6-7(9), 6-1 on Court Suzanne-Lenglen to earn his first main draw win in Paris.
“What a match,” he said. “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.”
The American earned a wild card by winning the USTA’s Roland-Garros Wild Card Challenge, recorded his first career top 10 win and became the first American to notch a top 10 win at Roland-Garros since 2000.
Novak Djokovic rallied from a set down for a 5-7, 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 win over 22-year-old home player, the six-foot, eight Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round of the French Open on Sunday in his record 82nd Grand Slam appearance.
“Obviously playing a French player, center court at Roland Garros is never so easy. The crowd gets into it and then you feel the pressure even more,” Djokovic said after the 2 hour, 51-minute encounter. “But all in all it was a good match to be part of: Three hours, just what the doctor ordered at age 39.”
Djokovic said afterward that Mpetshi Perricard — whom he played for the first time has “one of the most tremendous serves in terms of precision and speed that I have ever faced in my career.”
Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk’s first-round win at the French Open became one of her toughest matches after she found out beforehand that a missile had almost hit her parents’ home in Ukraine. The war in Ukraine has been going on for four years.
She fought back the tears in her defeat of Oksana Selekhmeteva 6-2, 6-3 on Court Simonne-Mathieu.
“I had to live through it and deal with it and go out and play,” Kostyuk said following her win. “I didn’t know what to expect from myself. I didn’t know how my focus is going to be, how I’m going to be able to, you know, control my emotions or my thoughts.
“There were obviously times in the match when I would go back to thinking about it, because most of the morning I felt sick just for my thought that seeing if it was 100 metres closer, I probably wouldn’t have a mom and a sister today.
“It was really difficult to just process it so quick and also go out and play… Yeah, it’s tough, but I’m very proud of myself today, of how we all handled it, and, you know, happy to be in the second round and that everyone is alive.”
Kostyuk comes into the French Open having won clay court titles in Rouen and Madrid.
