Teenager is into his first tour-level semi-final

American Nishesh Basavareddy is making a splash at the ASB Classic in Auckland.

The #NextGenATP star downed countryman Alex Michelsen 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 on Thursday to become the youngest American to reach a tour-level semi-final on hard courts since an 18-year-old Reilly Opelka in 2016 (Atlanta).

Basavareddy, who last month fell to Michelsen in a round-robin match at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, was aggressive on return, producing clean ballstriking to advance after one hour, 42 minutes. The teenager won 52 per cent of second-serve return points, compared to eighth seed Michelsen’s 33 per cent, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

“I didn’t serve great in the first set and he served really well, so it got away from me quickly. But I made some adjustments and I’m happy that I turned it around,” Basavareddy said. “It means a lot. This is one of my first ATP Tour events and to make a deep run gives me a lot of confidence going forward.”

Having entered the week at a career-high World No. 133 and advancing through qualifying, Basavareddy's quarter-final win moves him up to No. 106 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

Basavareddy upset defending champion and second seed Alejandro Tabilo in the second round. He will next meet Frenchman Gael Monfils, who defeated Argentine lucky loser Facundo Diaz Acosta 6-3, 6-1 after dropping just five points behind his first serve. Monfils beat Basavareddy last week in the Brisbane first round in what was their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.

Basavareddy turned pro in December following a standout 2024 season in which he was dominant on the ATP Challenger Tour. Basavareddy, who spent two years at Stanford University, won two Challenger titles and reached four additional finals at that level last season. He tallied a 41-13 match record, becoming just the third American in Challenger history (since 1978) to earn more than 40 wins in a single season.