ATP Tour

Tien & Basavareddy: From under-8 opponents to a Wimbledon showdown

On 7 July 2024, Learner Tien and Nishesh Basavareddy were waiting to go on court for an ATP Challenger Tour final in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Sat together in the event’s player dining area, they were watching the ongoing Grand Slam action at Wimbledon on TV.

Less than 12 months later and the longtime friends will, for the first time, be a part of the main-draw action at the grass-court major. Not only that, the two #NextGenATP Americans will face off in the first round on Monday in what will be a real pinch-me moment for both.

“We were playing at 1 p.m. and we were eating lunch right before the match,” Basavareddy told ATPTour.com, when asked what he remembered about that final day at Bloomfield Hills. “I think Ben Shelton was playing. We were watching it, so it’s pretty crazy that we are now playing here.”

It was Tien, competing in his first Challenger final, who prevailed that day in Michigan, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Both players have since risen more than 260 spots in the PIF ATP Rankings, and they capped their respective 2024 seasons with a debut appearance at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF.

“I think it’s cool, it’s kind of a full-circle thing,” reflected now-World No. 67 Tien on being drawn against Basavareddy at SW19. “Last year, about a week from now, we played in what was the first Challenger final of my career. We were both ranked 300-something, and we were in the dining area watching Wimbledon.

"We were watching this event, and it’s crazy to think that a year from then we are going to be playing first round here.”

For many fans, a player hanging out with their opponent right before a final may seem like an oddity. Yet Basavareddy says it is not so with rivals such as Tien, against whom he has competed since they were kids in California.

“It’s a little more common with your friends,” said the 20-year-old, who is now the World No. 100. “A lot of the guys you don’t know as well on Tour. We warmed up together that day as well, so it was a strange day.

“It’s a pretty unique draw, but it will be really fun. We played at like eight-and-under, 10-and-under, 12-and-under, so to finally be playing on one of the biggest stages in the world will be cool.”

Tien and Basavareddy have played only once more since Bloomfield Hills, last November at another Challenger event in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tien also prevailed on that occasion, but Basavareddy is hoping to quickly put his Challenger defeats to his friend behind him in order to make a positive start in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

“I think our games match up pretty well,” said the 20-year-old. “We are both not the biggest servers, but we have a lot of baseline rallies. The matches last year were quite long, especially the first one in the final. He’s a counterpuncher, he makes a lot of balls, and he’s really smart out there, so he makes it tough on you. But we’ll see how it goes.”

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While Tien would love to now transport his winning form against Basavareddy to Wimbledon, he won’t be counting on his past Challenger successes against his fellow Californian as he looks to register his first major match win since his breakout run to the fourth round at January’s Australian Open.

“I know that a lot of these guys, I’m going to be playing them a lot more in the future, so win or lose I don’t think about it too much, I don’t think,” said the 19-year-old when asked whether he felt making an ‘early statement’ in a fledgling rivalry was important. “A match is a match. It doesn’t carry so much weight.”