On paper, the 104th ranked player in the world should not be a match for the #9 seed. On paper, the veteran of 10 US Opens should not be pushed by a 20-year-old wild card making his US Open debut. US Open matches are not played on paper.

After a shaky few sets, Karen Khachanov survived a scare to put away young American Nishesh Basavareddy 6-7 6-3 7-5 6-1 in the first round of the 2025 US Open .

Thank goodness for ESPN+. If not for the streaming of outer court matches, only the 2,800 wise fans who grabbed a seat around Court 17 would have viewed this first round match that makes the early days of the US Open so compelling.

Opening Set to the Kid

In the bright sunshine of the late afternoon, Basavareddy came back from a break down to nab the first set 7-6. Tight the whole way,

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