Bill Simons
THIS GUY IS BASAVAREDDY FOR PRIME TIME: There was lots going on in Djokovic’s first-round match against Stanford product Nishesh Basavareddy.
1. It was the first match for Novak at this year’s Aussie Open, where he’s trying to break Margaret Court’s landmark record of 25 singles championships.
2. No other match ever had a player-coach combo with more Grand Slam wins. Djokovic has 24 and his freshly minted coach has three.
3. There have been many times in which a pro player has faced off against his or her idol. Think Venus, Serena, Roger and Rafa. And, just last March, Luca Nardi beat Djokovic at Indian Wells. For years, the Italian had a poster of his Serbian Idol in his bedroom, and he joked that he went to sleep every night looking at Novak.
4. A few years ago Ben Shelton came onto the pro circuit just like his college coach (and father) Bryan Shelton had. But no collegian has ever debuted in the main draw of an ATP tour on the center court of a Slam with the opportunity to break a record of his college coach.
In December, Basavareddy was a little known farm hand – a fast-rising prospect on Stanford’s roster under the watchful eye of his coach Paul Goldstein. And, back in 2006, Goldstein became the only player to beat Djokovic in the first round of a major. While a watch party at Stanford’s tennis lounge looked on, the composed and aggressive 19-year-old attacked Novak’s second serve, unleashed his lethal backhand and confused Novak with his drop shots. Like Nishesh’s fellow Northern Californian Jenson Brooksby had done at the 2021 US Open, Basavereddy thrilled fans and took the first set 6-4. But his serve and his legs waned, and he cramped. And, of course, GOATS tend to be GOATS. Djokovic so loves the battle.
Novak soon dominated, winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. Gracious in victory, the Serb said that his foe, who’s No. 107 in the world, “deserves every bit of applause he got when exiting the court.”
KYRGIOS’S CURIOUS COMMENTARIES: Australia’s prodigal son was coming home to grab glory.
Instead, Nick Kyrgios spent much of his first-round match against Jacob Fearnley grabbing his strained abdomen. Kyrgios, who was playing his first Grand Slam match in 28 months, had said, “When I step on court I don’t know whether I’m going to be controversial good or controversial bad.” Today he was controversial so-so.
Nick also said, “I think it’s good to be back…It’s important…the sport was getting a bit mundane.”
But nothing Nick does is mundane – it’s against his religion. Boring is the one thing his sometimes dazzling, sometimes baffling career is not.
On his beloved John Cain Arena, he once again lit up the crowd. Not surprisingly, he hit underarm serves, behind-the-back backhands, fun-loving tweeners and feathery volleys.
It’s hard for the 29-year-old Aussie to play a match without drama or a string of x-rated commentaries. In the arena’s gladiatorial setting, fans roared when Nick soared, and when his foe netted a serve or double faulted.
For much of the match, Nick was wincing as his strained abdomen worsened. Fatigued and at a loss, he berated himself: “Just keep fucking serving all right.” Amidst all his spicy language, the ump didn’t do a thing, but Eurosport’s commentators apologized for the Aussie’s salty mouth.
As Fearnley’s Scottish countryman Andy Murray coached his new student, Novak Djokovic to victory, 125 yards away on Laver Arena, the TCU product and world No. 92 kept his head in the abrasive setting and prevailed 7-6(3), 6-3, 7-6(2).
Afterward, Kyrgios implied his singles career was winding down. “Realistically,” he admitted, “I probably can’t see myself playing a singles match here again. I mean, Nick Kyrgios without his serve – I’m probably not a threat to many players.”
COCO’S SACRIFICE: Coco Gauff wore a rather exotic outfit and spoke to the crowd about it, saying “I’m a huge Marvel fan. A lot of the female superheroes have cool cutouts on their outfits…It is actually a pain to get into because it is a bodysuit…It’s kind of a struggle…If you can’t hold your bladder it’s not a good idea. But you have to sacrifice for fashion.”
ALEX THE GREAT: Fast-rising Alex Michelsen, No. 41, returned brilliantly and took out the No. 11 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. This was Michelsen’s best win in a major. Alex’s fellow Americans Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe and Seb Korda also won.
BACK-TO-BACK HEAVES: Deep into the 2024 US Open, Jack Draper threw up on Arthur Ashe Stadium. And it didn’t take long for the Australian Open to witness its own upchuck. Deep into his match against Arthur Rinderknech, Frances Tiafoe bent over and let it all out on the edge of a Melbourne court.
Frances had been in command, but now all seemed lost.
But the American, who saved 8 of 10 break points, somehow managed to rebound, and eventually prevailed, 7-6 (2), 6-3, 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-3, in a 4:04 marathon. Tiafoe said that if it had been any other tournament he would have quit.
ALL CARDS ARE ON THE TABLE: When reflecting on the most interesting coaching story in tennis for years, Daniil Medvedev noted, “Imagine if Lionel Messi became the coach of Cristiano Ronaldo.” After all, no player-coach combo has ever drawn more attention than Andy Murray guiding Novak Djokovic. Novak noted that in their playing days, he and Andy “were hiding things from each other, but now all cards are on the table.”
POP QUIZ: Question: What do bananas, picklejuice, ice towels and energy bars have in common?
Answer: All were successfully used by Nishesh Basavareddy to successfully recover from his cramps during his match against Djokovic.
RETRO TECH MOVE: We live in a tech-happy era – all the lines at the Australian Open are being called electronically. But for some reason, all the let cord electronic devices have been removed and let cords will be called by the chair umpire.
BROOKSBY BRAVELY REVEALS HIS AUTISM: Just a couple of seasons ago Jenson Brooksby was an appealing phenom. With his quirky mix of savvy and power, he scored eye-popping upsets over the likes of Taylor Fritz, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud. He rose to No. 33 at just age 21. Nobody wanted to play him.
In 2021, he beat Taylor Fritz. But today he fell to his fellow American in straight sets.
Now, in a candid interview with the AP, he’s detailed his return to tennis and his lifelong struggle with autism spectrum disorder. From his early childhood he was way behind others. He suffered severe behavioral challenges, he didn’t talk until he was four, and he had to work on language development and simple self-help skills, such as getting dressed alone or preparing a backpack for school. He’d spend about 40 hours a week with therapists working to develop his verbal and social skills. And his autism impacted his game and decision-making.
Brooksby told the AP that his autism was in some ways a big strength on court because in pressure moments it allowed him to “focus on two or three specific details really well for a long period of time.”
His big wins drew much attention. After he got a set off of Djokovic at the US Open, the Serb said, “We’re going to see a lot of Jenson in the future.”
But he was suspended for 13 months for just not showing up for three drug tests, plus he had to endure operations on both wrists and a shoulder.
Brooksby said that because of all this it was “easy to get depressed.” He kept it all to himself, but knew eventually he wanted to share his struggle and the daunting reality that he had difficulty with executive functioning. He didn’t understand what the results would be from his actions.
His missing three drug tests now make more sense. His autism, which was once severe, is now considered mild. Still, the largely new team he recently assembled looks for signs of distress.
His fans are now eager to see whether he can possibly return to his previous heights. The 6’ 4” 24-year-old, who’s now based in Texas, confided, “I just want people to know me for who I am fully…I’ve had a lot of time out of playing and a lot of thinking I’ve had to do.”
