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Second seed Holger Rune is the highest-ranked player left in the Mexican Open draw and leads a strong semifinal line-up at the event. The Dane will fight it out against his nemesis Casper Ruud for a spot in the championship round.
Top seed Jessica Pegula headlines the day's play over at the San Diego Open. The Middle East swing is also almost over as well. Daniil Medvedev leads a competitive semifinal schedule at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Here's a list of the day's best matches set for March 1:
#1 - Daniil Medvedev vs Ugo Humbert
Medvedev moved another step closer to a first successful title defense with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the Dubai Tennis Championships. He'll now take on Ugo Humbert in the semifinals.
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The Frenchman saved three match points to sneak past Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 7-6 (8), 6-3 in the previous round. He also leads Medvedev 2-1 in their rivalry but the latter won their most recent contest at last year's China Open in three sets.
Both will now aim to reach their second final of the season. Humbert previously won the Open 13 Provence a few weeks ago, while Medvedev finished as the runner-up at the Australian Open. With both being in good form so far, this promises to be an exciting affair.
Date: March 1, 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 Alexander Bublik
Both Rublev and Bublik advanced to the semifinals in Dubai after their opponents retired halfway through the second set during their respective quarterfinal bouts. The duo have each won a title this year.
Rublev triumphed at the Hong Kong Open at the start of the season, while Bublik emerged victorious at the Open Sud de France. The two will now fight it out to advance to their second final of the year.
Rublev has won four of his five matches against Bublik, with their most recent affair being a five-set thriller at last year's Wimbledon. The Russian managed to sneak past his opponent back then. Given their current form, this match could also go down to the wire.
Date: March 1, 2024.
Time: Not before 5:00 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST, 1:00 p.m. GMT, and 8:00 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 TSN3.
Australia: Fans across the country can watch the match on beIN Sports.
#3 - Jessica Pegula vs Anna Blinkova
Pegula's return from an injury break has worked out quite well so far. She has reached the quarterfinals of the San Diego Open in singles, along with the semifinals in doubles.
Pegula will face Anna Blinkova for a spot in the last four. The American's accomplishments naturally make her the favorite to come out on top in this encounter.
However, Blinkova has already defeated some in-form players this year, including Elena Rybakina and Dayana Yastremska. While it's a relatively tough draw for Pegula, she has the game to handle everything her opponent throws at her.
Date: March 1, 2024 (USA, Canada) and March 2, 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 - Alex de Minaur vs Jack Draper
It took de Minaur nearly six years and 11 matches, but he finally nabbed his first win over Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Australian staged a comeback to defeat his rival 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Mexican Open.
De Minaur will now continue his title defense against Jack Draper. The latter made light work of Miomir Kecmanovic to beat him 6-2, 6-2, and reach the biggest semifinal of his career.
While de Minaur has been in great form this year, Draper has played some fine tennis too. The Brit has been on fire this week at the Mexican Open as he's yet to drop a set. Furthermore, he hasn't lost more than four games per match. This match has all the elements to be a high-quality affair.
Date: March 1, 2024 (Mexico, USA, Canada) and March 2, 2024 (UK/Europe, India).
Time: Starting at 7:00 p.m. local time, 8:00 p.m. ET, 1:00 a.m. GMT, and 6:30 a.m. IST.
#5 - Holger Rune vs Casper Ruud
Rune scored straight-set wins over Michael Mmoh and Aleksandar Kovacevic to make the last eight at the Mexican Open. He then edged past Dominik Koepfer 7-6 (2), 7-6 (0) to reach his third semifinal of the season.
Ruud stormed back from a set down to notch up a 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-4 win over Ben Shelton. The Norwegian has lost just one of his six encounters against Rune. However, this will be their very first match on hardcourts as all of their prior matches were contested on clay.
Rune was also Ruud's last top-10 scalp as he won their most recent encounter at last year's French Open. The Norwegian has played quite well this season and the young Dane's campaign has also picked up steam after a lull. This could be another entertaining match between the duo.
Date: March 1, 2024 (Mexico, USA, Canada) and March 2, 2024 (UK/Europe, India).
Time: Not before 8:30 p.m. local time, 9:30 p.m. ET, 2:30 a.m. GMT, and 8:00 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+.
