America’s Nishesh Basavareddy has been in red-hot form at the 2025 ASB Classic. The 19-year-old tennis star has now become the youngest American to reach a tour-level SF on hard courts since 2016. After making it to the semis in Auckland, he said, “It means a lot. This is one of my first ATP Tour events and to make a deep run gives me a lot of confidence going forward.”

Next up for the American is the French superstar, Gael Monfils. So, it’s experience versus youth! Who’ll win this epic battle?

Gael Monfils vs. Nishesh Basavareddy: Preview

The 38-year-old Frenchman failed to win a title in the 2024 season. However, he did manage to reach the SF in the Qatar Open and the Mallorca Championships. Over here in Auckland, he started his campaign by winning the first match against Spain’s Pedro Martinez, then in the second match, he beat Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff by 6-1, 7-6(5). In the QF, he outclassed Argentina’s Facundo Diaz Acosta by two sets. What’ll be the scoreline in the SF?

His opponent, Nishesh Basavareddy played really well in the Challenger events in the last season. He also won titles at the Challenger Tiburon, US, and the Puerto Vallarta Open. In the Next Gen ATP Finals, Basavareddy won just 1 out of his 3 matches, but at the ASB Classic, he has been quite impressive so far.

After winning his two qualifiers, he defeated Argentina’s Francisco Comesana in the R32 by 6-2, 6-2. Then it took him three sets to beat Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo in the R16 and his compatriot Alex Michelsen in the QF.

Monfils vs. Basavareddy: Head-to-Head

Gael Monfils has faced Nishesh Basavareddy only once in his career and interestingly their first meeting took place just a few days ago at Brisbane International. Currently, the Frenchman has a 1-0 lead in the H2H record. So, now it’ll be interesting to see if the American can pull one back in his favor in the second meeting.

• 2025 Brisbane R32: Monfils 6-4,4-6,6-1.

Prediction: Monfils to win in three sets

Nishesh Basavareddy will give a tough challenge to the Frenchman, but can he win the battle against this experienced campaigner? Well, that looks pretty unlikely at the moment! Gael Monfils knows how to bring out his A-game in their crucial deciders. He is currently ranked 52nd in the world and has a win-loss record of 26-22. While Nishesh Basavareddy (133) had a win-loss record of just 1-3 on the main Tour last year. Having said, that there is no denial in his enormous potential and so, we think he forced Monfils to play three sets in this epic battle.

If we take a look at their playing styles, Basavareddy is known for his aggressive brand of tennis. He often relies heavily on his powerful groundstrokes and quick footwork to put his opponents in some real trouble. It allows him to dominate the rallies. Basavareddy has worked on his techniques a bit in the last few months and this has indeed also helped him to put his name in the list of some of the formidable opponents on the Tour. So, we can expect more exciting tennis from this young lad in the upcoming days.

Talking about Gael Monfils, well, he’s more of a baseliner who mainly relies on placement and consistency to beat his opponents. His incredible agility and court coverage even at this age, makes him a really special player on the Tour. Monfils can also jump from defense to offense very swiftly. So, considering all these factors and his overall experience on the Tour, we’re keeping him slightly ahead in this epic battle.