What a match this is going to be! It’s going to be experience versus youth. On one side, there is a player who has nothing to lose but a lot to gain, and on the other side, there is this 37-year-old who has nothing more to gain! Novak Djokovic is already a 24-time Grand Slam champion, and he will be facing the 19-year-old American Nishesh Basavareddy, in the first round of the 2025 AO. Remember, even the last time he had faced a teenager in his Melbourne Major opener? What does Novak Djokovic have to say about this young lad from California, though?

Well, the Serb faced the young Croatian Dino Prizmic in the first round of the 2024 AO. Prizmic gave a tough fight to Novak Djokovic in that match, and guess what? He even won a set against him in that match. The matches ended in 6-2,6(5)-7,6-3,6-4 in favor of the Serbian. However, what can we expect from Nishesh Basavareddy in this epic encounter, though? For those who are unaware, Basavareddy will be entering this contest following his hard-fought defeat against Gael Monfils in the SF of the ASB Classic. This will be Basavareddy’s first Grand Slam main draw match, and he couldn’t have asked for a better opponent, right?

What did Novak Djokovic say about this young lad in the recent press conference, though? “Well, to be honest, I don’t know much about him. I watched him play yesterday actually for the first time. I think he’s playing the semifinals of New Zealand tournament now. I saw that he’s very quick. He’s a very talented player. He’s got great hands. He’s very dynamic. He can serve well, hit spots. Just very complete game overall,” said the 10-time AO champion.

He also mentioned that he had no intentions to take this match lightly! While speaking on Basavareddy Novak Djokovic further added, “I mean, it’s going to be his, I guess, first time in main draw of the Grand Slam, wild card, playing on the center court. Not much to lose. I’m sure that he is going to be really pumped to make a statement. I have to obviously approach that match very seriously, like any other, and do my best to get a win. Also in the process, enjoy the nice moment of sharing the court with him.”

Novak Djokovic’s first tournament in 2025 ended with a loss to an American! He was defeated by Reilly Opelka in the QF of the 2025 Brisbane International. Now, it’ll be interesting to see if he can make a strong comeback against this young American or not. Talking about Nishesh Basavareddy, well, this match is more like a dream come true moment for him. During a recent interview, he revealed, “My favorite has always been Djokovic. I’ve looked up to a lot of different players and modeled my game after a lot of players, but he’s been my favorite.”

Interestingly, in November 2024, during a conversation on the Changeover podcast, Nishesh Basavareddy was asked to reveal the reason why he was once labeled as ‘The Indian Novak.’ He said, “When I was younger, I used to try to like copy his serve and stuff.” Basavareddy also explained how Novak Djokovic’s game appealed to him, highlighting the Serb’s sublime defensive skills. 

His tennis idol didn’t have a great season last year. In 2024, for the first time since 2017, Novak Djokovic failed to win a Grand Slam title. Can he turn things around in 2025? What are Novak Djokovic’s goals for the next few months?

Novak Djokovic expresses his desire to add another Australian Open title to his already impressive tally

Novak Djokovic (10) has won the men’s singles the most time of any player at the AO in the Open Era. He’s in fact one of the two players to win 10+ at a single Grand Slam event in that span along with Rafael Nadal (14 French Open titles). If he wins the title at the 2025 AO, he’ll not only secure his 11th title here but also become the most successful player ever (male or female) in the majors, with 25 titles. Then there is the allure of a 100th ATP-Tour level crown. Currently, Novak Djokovic (99) sits just one away from that magical number. So, there is a lot at stake for the Serb at the moment.

Speaking on his mission in Melbourne, he said, “Melbourne has been the most successful city or the Australian Open the most successful grand slam I’ve had in my career. I want to keep it that way, I hope to keep going. I just hope to, before I retire, get at least one more title there and that is the goal.“ Even at this age, he feels quite confident about taking on the best players in the world in the Grand Slam tournaments. What do the experts think of his chances in Melbourne, though?

Recently, Rennae Stubbs expressed her hopes of seeing Novak Djokovic win his 25th major by saying, “If he wins the Australian Open, I would like him to drop the mic. I would really love to see Novak win one more cause God knows I want that Margaret Court record to be never talked about ever again ‘cause they changed the goalposts.” Even Andrea Petkovic predicted that Djokovic will put all efforts into securing his 25th major title at either AO or the Wimbledon in 2025. Mats Wilander also feels the Serb has got “a really, really good shot” at winning at least one Grand Slam title in 2025. Can he do it? Time will tell! However, share your thoughts on the same in the comment box.