Gilles Cervara, who used to coach Daniil Medvedev, has found his next project. He’s now working with Nishesh Basavareddy, a 20-year-old American who’s ranked 167th in the world.
It’s been a few months since Cervara and Medvedev went their separate ways. Their partnership ended in August after eight pretty successful years together on the ATP Tour.
A Promising Start That Faded
Basavareddy’s getting ready for the Next Gen ATP Finals, and honestly, his tennis journey has been a bit of a rollercoaster so far.
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He burst onto the scene last December at the Brisbane International. The following week, he made it to the semifinals of the ASB Classic as a qualifier – which is pretty amazing when you think about it.
Then came his big moment.
A couple days later, he faced Novak Djokovic in the first round of the Australian Open. He actually gave Djokovic some real trouble early on and won the opening set. But Djokovic being Djokovic, he figured things out and eventually won the match.
Basavareddy broke into the top 100 in June. That’s when things started going sideways.
His ranking dropped fast after that. He struggled on the Challenger Tour and lost in the first round at both Wimbledon and the US Open. It became pretty clear he needed some serious help to take the next step.
Enter Cervara
That’s where Cervara comes in. The French coach has years of experience working with Medvedev, who’s won a Grand Slam and reached No. 1 in the world.
Cervara’s excited about the challenge too.
"I’m thrilled about this project with a healthy player and environment, eager to build something after many months without a structure."
"He’s a young man who isn’t confined to the United States and wants to work with a French coach. It’s a great adventure. There are quite a few things to accomplish in relation to my coaching profile."
– Gilles Cervara, as quoted by L’Equipe
The two actually have some history. Cervara first met Basavareddy at the 2023 ATP Finals, where the young American was working as Medvedev’s hitting partner.
They’ve already started training together at the Mouratoglou Academy in France. Cervara’s likely to travel with Basavareddy to Jeddah for the Next Gen Finals.
Next Gen Challenge Ahead
This will be Basavareddy’s second year at the Next Gen Finals. Last year didn’t go so well – he couldn’t make it out of the group stages, finishing with one win and two losses.
This year’s field is tough. He’ll face players like Jakub Mensik, Learner Tien, Alexander Blockx, Dino Prizmic, Martin Landaluce, Nikolai Budkov Kjaer, and Rafael Jodar.
The tournament starts December 17th and wraps up on December 21st.
College Star Turned Pro
Before going pro last December, Basavareddy played for Stanford University as a freshman. He got mentorship from Rajeev Ram, a former doubles No. 1 who’s won five Grand Slams in doubles and mixed doubles.
His amateur credentials were pretty solid. He was ranked 5th in the world on the ITF’s Junior U-18 circuit.
At Stanford, he racked up some impressive honors: Fall National Champion, All-American, Northwest Region Rookie of the Year, and Scholar Athlete awards.
Now it’s time to see if Cervara’s coaching can help translate that early promise into consistent results on the professional tour.
