Magically in the Main Draw

Basavareddy just barely made it here...

I'm sure some of you have seen the semi-viral clip in his match against Ofner. The Austrian thought he had won the match when reaching 7 points in the supertiebreak, starting to celebrate. Instead, he was reminded that it goes to 10 points, and instead, he managed to blow a big lead and lose the match! Basavareddy's "celebration" is putting his hands on his throat, indicating a choke from Ofner... similar to what Indiana Pacers' Haliburton did in 2025 (of whom Basavareddy is allegedly a fan), for any NBA fans here ;) He had another tough match in his final qualification match against Loffhagen, but managed to put up a clutch performance, saving a lot of breakpoints - winning in a deciding set. Basavareddy is not playing his best tennis, but we have seen players go on excellent runs after being battle-tested and coming through. As for O'Connell, I don't have the same kind of stories to give you! Just a few matches played in the Australian ATP250 events, where he has looked average at best.

O'Connell's game tends to bother the younger and inexperienced players. He can hold his serve fairly well with a solid serve and forehand, and he has a great slice and the ability to come to the net. As I'm sure you know, the newer generation relies a lot on pace and power more so than finesse and variety, so they can struggle with this! For Basavareddy, we know exactly what he struggles with - overwhelming and relentless power. A combination of a great backhand and his height should make him quite suitable to deal with the Australians' slices. As I mentioned earlier, I don't think he has been playing his best, but could this be a good opportunity for him? He is coming into the main draw with nothing to lose (he should've lost against Ofner) and possibly a decent-looking matchup against O'Connell...