Who is Nishesh Basavareddy? Carmel is playing against Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open

While you sleep, a Carmel High School graduate will most likely be on the other side of the world competing against one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

And no, this time it’s not Rajeev Ram.

Carmel graduate Nishesh Basavareddy will face 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic in the first round of the Australian Open at 3 a.m. on Monday.

Nishesh Basavareddy of the USA plays a forehand against Gael Monfils of France in their semifinal match on day 12 of the ASB Classic at the ASB Tennis Center on January 10, 2025 in Auckland, New Zealand.

Who is Nishesh Basavareddy?

When he was eight years old, Basavareddy and his family moved from California to central Indiana.

The 19-year-old Basavareddy was ranked the No. 4 recruit in the class of 2022, according to Tennis Recruiting, choosing perennial favorite Stanford.

After making second-team All-Pac-12 as a freshman in 2023, Basavareddy was named the Pac-12 Individual Player of the Year in 2024. A two-time All-American, Basavareddy turned pro in December after dominating the ATP Challenger Tour (41-13 record).

Ahead of the Australian Open, Basavareddy reached the semi-finals of the Auckland 250 before losing to French veteran Gael Monfils.

Nishesh Basavareddy gets help from Rajeev Ram

Basavareddy and his Carmel College colleague Rajeev Ram met at a tennis camp run by their mutual coach Bryan Smith.

“We formed a pretty good bond as two kids from this city, both of Indian-American descent, trying to make it in professional tennis,” Ram told WTHR this August.

“I have probably trained with (Nishesh) as much as I have with anyone in my life back home,” Ram told ATPTour.com. “He’s been such a good player since he was 13 or 14 that I can bat with him.”

A 2000 Carmel graduate, Ram has 31 career men’s doubles titles, including six Grand Slam titles (four men’s, two mixed).

“(Rajeev) was very important to my development because he played junior tennis and college tennis and made the transition to professional tennis after leaving the University of Illinois,” Basavareddy told ATPTour.com. “I guess if I have all his advice, what? What I can expect on the Pro Tour and the tennis tips were extremely important to me.”

Nishesh Basavareddy plays against his idol Novak Djokovic

“I admire a lot of things in his game,” Basavareddy told ATPTour.com in October. “First of all, I just think about his mental strength and all the toughness he shows in every moment of his career. Also because he left no stone unturned throughout his career. He’s worked on his diet, he’s worked on his physical strength and his mental toughness. “He doesn’t have any holes.

Lunch dates with Nishesh Basavareddy and Andrew Luck

Basavareddy has a big fan of another former Stanford product with ties to Indianapolis: former Colts quarterback Andrew Luck.

“I know him relatively well. I had lunch with him twice last year, that was pretty cool,” Basavareddy told ATPTour.com. “He’s a super humble, down-to-earth guy. At one point in his career, when he played for the Colts, he lived five minutes from where I lived. I think that’s a pretty cool thing that we share.”

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Who is Nishesh Basavareddy? Carmel is playing against Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open

Who is Nishesh Basavareddy?

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