Naomi Osaka, who won two of her four major titles in Australia, faced Caroline Garcia in Monday’s last match at Rod Laver Arena.

Noteworthy exits came from two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka, 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, and two-time major finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas. Ostapenko’s 6-3, 7-6 (6) loss came against Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Belinda Bencic, who is ranked outside the top 400 after returning in October from maternity leave.

Also one-and-done, but not that surprisingly: Nick Kyrgios, who lost to Djokovic in the 2022 Wimbledon final and played one match the past two seasons because of injuries. Kyrgios dealt with a strained abdominal muscle in the lead-up to this week and was defeated by Jacob Fearnley 7-6 (3), 6-3, 7-6 (2).

“Sorry for Nick,” said Fearnley, a 23-year-old from Scotland who played college tennis at TCU in Fort Worth, Texas. “I could tell he was dealing with some stuff.”

The intensity and physicality of the points against Djokovic wore on Basavareddy. Another key: Djokovic’s backhand grew faster in the second set, while Basavareddy’s shots off that wing slowed. And one more: Djokovic hit 23 aces.

At 3-all, a half-hour in, Basavareddy moved out front by breaking Djokovic with a backhand return winner. Soon enough, that set belonged to the youngster, who is not shy about saying the Serb is his favorite player. Basavareddy showed off some great touch with drop shots and lob winners, while hanging in there at the baseline with the consummate baseliner.

“Very complete player,” Djokovic said. “He did very pleasantly surprise me with all of his shots and his fighting spirit toward the end.”

They are currently separated by exactly 100 spots in the ATP rankings. The gulf is far wider, of course, when it comes to experience and accomplishments.

This outcome left Basavareddy’s career record at Grand Slam tournaments at 0-1; his tour-level debut only came in December. Djokovic, meanwhile, picked up his record-extending 378th victory at a major on Monday; he hasn’t lost in the first round of one since bowing out at that stage of his first two Australian Opens in 2005 and 2006.

“He didn’t get carried away by the significance of the moment,” Djokovic said about Basavareddy. “I’m sure we’ll see a lot of him in the future.”