Day 1 of the 2026 French Open delivered its first shock in Paris when Nishesh Basavareddy beat Taylor Fritz in four sets at Roland Garros. Basavareddy, who had only one main-draw singles win before the match, outlasted the No. 7 seed 7-6, 7-6, 6-7, 6-1.
The result gave the 26-year-old American a place in the sport’s record books, making him the first American man to beat a top-10 opponent at Roland Garros since 2000. It was also only his second main-draw singles win, a jolt on a day that quickly turned into a showcase for both newcomers and established names.
Fritz kept himself alive by taking the third-set tiebreak 11-9, but Basavareddy closed the match with authority in the fourth. The win mattered beyond one upset because it came against a player seeded seventh and arrived on a day when the French Open was trying to settle into its usual rhythm.
That rhythm never really held. Novak Djokovic also moved through, beating Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 5-7, 7-5, 6-0, 6-4 after dropping the opening set. Mirra Andreeva advanced as well, defeating French wild card Fiona Ferro in straight sets.
Hailey Baptiste produced one of the day’s other sharpest swings, coming back to beat Barbora Krejčíková in three sets after saving two match points. Krejčíková is a two-time Grand Slam champion, which made Baptiste’s recovery even more striking. Lorenzo Sonego then finished Pierre-Hugues Herbert in five sets, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2, 1-6, 6-4, in one of three matches on Day 1 that went the distance.
For Basavareddy, the numbers tell the story plainly: two tiebreaks won, one final set controlled, and a result that few at Roland Garros would have expected at the start of the day. For Fritz, the loss ends a quick first-round run with more questions than answers, while for Basavareddy it is the kind of breakthrough that can change the way a draw feels from here.
