Three American men–Ethan Quinn, Eliot Spizzirri, and Nishesh Basavareddy–some playing in their first-ever Australian Open main draw matches, won on Day 3 at the 2026 Australian Open.
Each of the winners is under 25 years old and ranked outside of the Top 50.
Young American Men on Day 3 at the Australian Open
Nishesh Basavareddy over Christopher O’Connell
In a thriller, Basavareddy, the youngest of the American trio at 20 years old, knocked off Australian veteran Christopher O’Connell 4-6 7-6 6-7 6-2 6-3.
The American, who made his way into the main draw through qualifying, needed over four hours to finally claim his first ever Grand Slam match win. Basavareddy was out-aced and out-winnered by the Australian wild card but managed to convert in key situations. The American, ranked No. 242 entering the match, converted on five of 13 break points, including hitting a critical backhand winner to break for a 5-3 lead in the deciding set.
Basavareddy next faces No. 15 seed Karen Khachanov in Round 2.
Ethan Quinn over Tallon Griekspoor
21-year-old Ethan Quinn blew past No. 23 seed Tallon Griekspoor 6-2 6-3 6-2 in only 97 minutes.
Quinn, the only one of the trio to have any Grand Slam victories, nabbed his fourth overall Grand Slam main draw win and first in Australia by hitting 32 winners and making only 16 unforced errors. Griekspoor managed only 12 points on Quinn’s serve as the young American was never significantly tested in this upset.
Quinn moves on to play veteran Hubert Hurkacz in the second round.
Eliot Spizzirri over Joao Fonseca
In perhaps the most surprising of the three American surprises on Day 3, 24-year-old Eliot Spizzirri defeated rising star and No. 28 seed Joao Fonesca 6-4 2-6 6-1 6-2.
Picked by many to make a deep run in this event, the Brazilian managed to win only 67% of the points on his first serve and made 38 unforced errors while striking only 30 winners.
Spizzirri, ranked No. 85 in the world, limited the errors to 25 while hitting 41 winners and converting on 5 of 13 break points to stun the Brazilian and to find himself in the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.
Spizzirri is scheduled to face qualifier Yibing Wu in his next match.
Good Day for American Men
In addition to these three Americans claiming wins in their Australian Open, Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz each advanced to Round 2. The No. 8 and No. 9 seeds routinely took care of business. Alex Michelsen was the only American who lost on a day where American men went 5-1.
Lots to look forward to for fans of American tennis as the Australian Open moves into Round 2 on Wednesday.
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images