The 2026 French Open kicked off with a major upset on Sunday afternoon. World No. 148 Nishesh Basavareddy defeated seventh-seed Taylor Fritz in their first round match: 7-6(5), 7-6(5), 6-7(9), 6-1.It was a highly competitive match that lasted for two hours and 45 minutes on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. It was the biggest win of the career for Basavareddy, who was rightfully ecstatic after the upset victory.As for Fritz, his clay court season lasted four days, and he went 0-2. As always, the American star did not disappoint in his post-match press conference. He gave stinging self-criticism while pinpointing how his compatriot upset him.Play Analysis"I really don't think my level was that bad to be honest," Fritz explained. "All things considered, I thought I actually played all right. Certain things here and there that I need to do a bit better. I wasn't hitting some of the spots on my serve as good as I as I could have, and I could have returned a lot better as well. But a bit frustrating because a lot of times I'm not returning well."Fritz said he had opportunities to break Basavareddy during the match, but wasn't getting his racket on the ball well. "I just wasn't able to turn it around, and I think he played amazingly."Knee InjuryFritz said his knee felt "pretty good," but added the disclaimer that he is taking anti-inflammatories that could be masking the pain. A silver lining for the early exit is more time to rehabilitate his knee tendonitis. "It is nice. I'm going to get to keep going back to the rehab and keep getting it better."Grass Court SeasonWith Fritz's clay court season over, the conversation naturally segwayed into talk about grass court season. Fritz expressed concern about playing on grass, "I think grass is going to be a real test for it. There's so many choppy steps. It's really tough on the patella." Fritz explained that it was grass court season last summer, when he began feeling knee pain. But he has a clear blueprint, as he suffered a first-round loss at Roland Garros 2025. "I feel like last year the knee started kind of getting worse for me. So I think I think grass is going to be a big test, and you know it is what it is."Basavareddy's Drop ShotsFritz praised Basavareddy's technical style today. "The biggest thing was just the drop shots were crazy," Fritz said. "I mean, he killed me with that and there's not there's not really much I can do about it." Fritz later added, "Yeah, it is what it is. He really cooked me with the drop shots today. I was very impressed with like his feel."After today's massive victory, Basavareddy improves to 3-3 on the season and will face the winner of Alexander Shevchenko and Alex Michelsen in the second round. Fritz falls to 12-10 on the year.Follow Sports Illustrated's Serve On SI for all of your tennis news from the court and beyond.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow