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Monday marks the start of a new week of tournaments and right off the bat some big names are in the mix, led by Andy Murray. The former World No. 1 will be in action at the Dubai Tennis Championships, along with Andrey Rublev.
The American trio of Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, and Ben Shelton headline the day's play at the Mexican Open in Acapulco. The three of them have had some great results this year, with the lattermost among them being the only one to not have won a title this season.
There are plenty of exciting matches lined up for February 26, but here are five of them that one cannot afford to skip at any cost:
#1 - Andy Murray vs Denis Shapovalov
After a string of losses, Murray finally nabbed his first win of the year at last week's Qatar Open. He defeated Alexandre Muller 6-1, 7-6 (5) in his opener but lost to Czech teen Jakub Mensik 7-6 (6), 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4) in the next round.
Shapovalov is on the comeback trail this season after an injury sidelined him in the latter half of the 2023 season. He has just a lone win under his belt this year, which came against Hugo Gaston at the Open Sud de France.
Both have a win over the other. Shapovalov won in straight sets at the 2021 Wimbledon, while Murray needed three sets to win at the 2022 Madrid Open. Now, the two are set to clash in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships. This is a great opportunity for both to score a much-needed victory.
Date: February 26, 2024.
Time: Not before 4:00 p.m. local time, 5:30 p.m. IST, 12:00 p.m. GMT, and 7:00 a.m. ET.
#2 - Andrey Rublev vs Zhizhen Zhang
Murray wasn't the only high-profile scalp claimed by Mensik last week as Rublev suffered a defeat at his hands at the Qatar Open as well. Since his victory at the Hong Kong Open at the start of the year, the Russian has bowed out in the quarterfinal stage of all the tournaments he has contested.
Zhang's best result this season has been a quarterfinal showing at the Open 13 Provence. He hasn't won consecutive matches at any other tournaments thus far. Rublev is yet to suffer an early exit this year, so he'll be favored over the Chinese to make it through their first-round clash in Dubai.
Date: February 26, 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.
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 - Ben Shelton vs Dan Evans
Shelton reached the semifinals of his previous event, the Dallas Open, where he lost to Tommy Paul. Before that, he lost in the third round of the Australian Open and the semifinals of the ASB Classic.
Evans snapped his three-match losing streak with a win over Roman Safiullin in the first round of last week's Los Cabos Open. However, he couldn't build upon it as Thanasi Kokkinakis sent him packing in the next round.
The two are now set to cross paths for the very first time in the opening round of the Mexican Open in Acapulco. Given Evans' poor results this season, Shelton has a great shot at moving on to the next round.
Date: February 26, 2024 (Mexico, USA, Canada) and February 27, 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.
#4 - Tommy Paul vs Jack Draper
Paul and Draper's first-round showdown at the Mexican Open will be their third encounter this season. The Brit scored an easy 6-1, 6-4 win at the Adelaide International but the American avenged the loss at the Australian Open with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory.
Draper still leads the overall head-to-head 2-1 as he won their very first match at last year's Adelaide International as well. Paul has been in great form over the last few weeks as he won the Dallas Open and reached the final of the Delray Beach Open.
As for Draper, he crashed out in the first round of the Los Cabos Open. Based on recent results, Paul has a chance to level this rivalry with a win over the Brit.
Date: February 26, 2024 (Mexico, USA, Canada) and February 27, 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 - Taylor Fritz vs Matteo Arnaldi
After his quarterfinal exit from the Australian Open, Fritz successfully defended his title at the Delray Beach Open. Arnaldi made the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International at the start of the season but hasn't put together two consecutive wins since then.
Fritz has usually performed quite well at the Mexican Open, with a runner-up finish in 2020 and a semifinal in 2023 being his best results. Arnaldi will be the underdog in this match-up and will face an uphill battle in trying to beat the in-form American.
Date: February 26, 2024 (Mexico, USA, Canada) and February 27, 2024 (UK/Europe, India).
Time: Not before 9:00 p.m. local time, 10:00 p.m. ET, 3:00 a.m. GMT, and 8:30 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+.
