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Defending champion Daniil Medvedev has marched into the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships. Other players to join him include Andrey Rublev, Hubert Hurkacz, and Alexander Bublik, among others.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, Holger Rune, and Ben Shelton lead a strong line-up scheduled to take to the court on Thursday at the Mexican Open. Home favorite Emma Navarro will be in the fray at the San Diego Open.
Here's a quick list of the five most exciting matches lined up for February 29:
#1 - Daniil Medvedev vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Defending champion Medvedev fought back from a set down to oust Lorenzo Sonego 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the second round. Davidovich Fokina claimed a closely fought opening set 7-6 (7) against Jakub Mensik, after which the latter retired at the start of the second set.
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Medvedev leads Fokina 3-0 in the head-to-head. He won their most recent match at last year's Indian Wells Masters in straight sets. The Russian also has a better win-loss record this season but hasn't really dominated his opponents in Dubai so far. Nevertheless, he'll be favored to win this one given his winning record against the Spaniard.
Date: February 29, 2024.
Time: Not before 7:00 p.m. local time, 8:30 p.m. IST, 3:00 p.m. GMT, and 10:00 a.m. ET.
#2 - Andrey Rublev vs Sebastian Korda
Rublev defeated Arthur Cazaux 6-4, 6-4 in the second round without facing a single break point throughout the match. Korda bested Pavel Kotov 6-0, 6-2 in his opener and bettered that performance in the second round with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Botic van de Zandschulp.
Rublev has enjoyed the upper hand in his rivalry against Korda as he has won all three of their matches. They recently faced off at last month's Australian Open with the Russian coming through in straight sets.
Given how Korda has played in Dubai thus far, this seems like his best chance to finally nab a win over Rublev. The latter has made it to the quarterfinals of every tournament he has competed in. However, he hasn't progressed past this stage since winning the Hong Kong Open at the start of the year. This match could be an intense affair given their form.
Date: February 29, 2024.
Time: Approx. 4:00 p.m. local time, 5:30 p.m. IST, 12:00 p.m. GMT, and 7:00 a.m. ET.
Where to watch the Dubai Tennis Championships?
Viewers from the following countries can catch all the action live on the following channels and sites:
USA: Viewers in the United States can catch all the action on Tennis Channel.
UK: Fans in the UK can watch the proceedings live on Sky Sports.
Canada: Canadian viewers can watch the match live on TSN+.
Australia: Fans across the country can watch the match on beIN Sports.
#3 - Emma Navarro vs Katerina Siniakova
Navarro has enjoyed a good level of success this season. She started the year with a semifinal run at the ASB Classic and then captured her maiden WTA title at the Hobart International. The 22-year old then reached the third round of a Major for the first time at the Australian Open.
A third round showing at the Qatar Open was Navarro's best result during the Middle East swing. As one of the top seeds at the San Diego Open, she received a bye into the second round.
Siniakova hasn't really shined in singles as she has in doubles and has won consecutive main draw matches just once this season in the former. She defeated Mai Hontama 6-3, 6-1 in the opening round here.
Navarro has twice as many wins as the Czech and has played a lot better this year. If she maintains her current form then the American shouldn't have a problem in getting past her opponent.
Date: February 29, 2024 (USA, Canada) and March 1, 2024 (UK/Europe, India).
Time: Not before 5:30 p.m. local time, 8:30 p.m. ET, 1:30 a.m. GMT, and 7:00 a.m. IST.
Where to watch San Diego Open?
Viewers in the USA and UK can watch the tournament live on the following channels and sites:
USA: The official broadcaster in the region is Tennis Channel.
UK: Matches will be telecast on Sky Sports.
#4 - Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Alex de Minaur
Tsitsipas downed Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the second round while defending champion de Minaur bested Sebastian Ofner 6-1, 6-3. The Australian has lost just seven games at the Mexican Open so far and has performed much better than the Greek this season as well.
De Minaur will need to maintain this level of focus and intensity against Tsitsipas, who has proven to be the bane of his existence on the tour. The latter has won all 10 of their previous matches, with the last four of them being straight-set victories.
De Minaur's form makes him the favorite to win this encounter. However, Tsitsipas' dominance in this match-up makes it tough to count him out despite his results this year.
Date: February 29, 2024 (Mexico, USA, Canada) and March 1, 2024 (UK/Europe, India).
Time: Starting at 6:00 p.m. local time, 7:00 p.m. ET, 12:00 a.m. GMT, and 5:30 a.m. IST.
#5 - Holger Rune vs Dominik Koepfer
Rune scored a 7-6 (5), 6-2 win over Aleksandar Kovacevic to make the last eight at the Mexican Open. Koepfer knocked out eighth seed Frances Tiafoe in three sets to do the same.
Rune has now reached his third quarterfinal of the season while it's the second for Koepfer. However, the German's journey is likely to end here as he has lost his last 13 matches against top 10 players. He only has a lone win over a player ranked in that region, which came way back in 2020. This is likely to be an easy win for the young Dane who seems to be playing well once again.
Date: February 29, 2024 (Mexico, USA, Canada) and March 1, 2024 (UK/Europe, India).
Time: Approx. 8:00 p.m. local time, 9:00 p.m. ET, 2:00 a.m. GMT, and 7:30 a.m. IST.
Where to watch the Mexican Open?
Viewers in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia can catch the tournament live on the following channels and sites:
USA: All matches will be broadcast on Tennis Channel.
UK: Viewers in the region can catch up on the proceedings on Sky Sports.
Australia: Viewers Down Under can catch all the action live on beIN Sports.
Canada: Viewers in Canada can watch all the matches on TSN+.
