Jessica Pegula looks set for her biggest test of the French Open so far, in the Pegula vs Mertens live streams. In this third-round matchup, she takes on No. 28 seed Elise Mertens. The Belgian entered the tournament without much fanfare, but having won her two previous meetings with Pegula, she might just be feeling confident here.
Read on and we'll show you how to watch from anywhere with a VPN, and potentially for FREE.
Pegula vs Mertens begins today (Friday, June 2) at 5.45 a.m. ET / 2.45 a.m. PT / 10.45 a.m. BST.
► U.S. — NBC, Tennis Channel and Peacock
► U.K. — Discovery Plus
► Watch anywhere — Try ExpressVPN 100% risk free
Any of Mertens's psychological advantages could be negated by the fact that Pegula has essentially had three days off. That was all thanks to Camila Giorgi, who might as well not have turned up to their clash on Wednesday.
The Italian opted to retire with just 34 minutes on the clock, with Pegula having already breezed through the opening set without breaking sweat. Mertens, meanwhile, was made to work for a 6-3, 7-6 victory over the plucky lucky loser Camila Osorio, who pushed her hard for a shade over two hours.
From her powerful first serve and whippy second serve to her penetrating groundstrokes, the 27-year-old has so much potential but is running out of time to fulfil it. Whereas Pegula has reached the last eight at four of the past five majors, Mertens last got that far all the way back in 2020, with her doubles prowess taking precedence in recent years.
Could this be a belated breakthrough moment for the Belgian, or will the American No.3 seed beat the hoodoo and show her class? Here's everything you need to know see Pegula vs Mertens online and watch the French Open 2023 from anywhere.
FREE Pegula vs Mertens live streams
How to watch Pegula vs Mertens live streams for FREE in 2023
If you're lucky enough to live in Australia, France or Austria then you can look forward to a FREE Pegula vs Mertens live stream from Roland-Garros in 2023.
That's because the free-to-air Channel 9 and its 9Now streaming service in Australia, France.TV in France and ServusTV in Austria all have rights to the action.
But what if you're based in one of those countries but aren't at home to catch that Pegula vs Mertens live stream? Maybe you're on holiday and don't want to spend money on pay TV in another country, when you'd usually be able to watch for free at home?
Don't worry — you can watch it via a VPN instead. We'll show you how to do that below.
Pegula vs Mertens live streams around the world
How to watch Pegula vs Mertens live streams from anywhere with a VPN
It's natural that you might want to watch a Pegula vs Mertens live stream from your home country, but what if you're not there when the match is on?
Look no further than a VPN, or virtual private network. A VPN makes it look as if you're surfing the web from your home country, rather than the one you're in. That means you can access the streaming services you already pay for, from anywhere on Earth. Or anywhere that has an internet connection, at least.
For instance, an Australian who's currently in the U.S. could watch Pegula vs Mertens live streams on 9Now, even though they're not in Australia.
They're totally legal, inexpensive and easy to use. We've tested lots of the best VPN services and our favorite right now is ExpressVPN. It's fast, works on loads of devices and even offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Using a VPN is incredibly simple.
1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, ExpressVPN is our favorite.
2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance if you're in the U.S. and want to view an Australian service, you'd select Australia from the list.
3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to 9Now or another website and watch Pegula vs Mertens.
How to watch Pegula vs Mertens live streams in the US
If you're in the U.S. you have a couple of options to watch a Pegula vs Mertens live stream at the French Open. Viewers can tune in on the Tennis Channel, as well as Peacock.
Pegula vs Mertens will start no earlier than 5.45 a.m. ET / 2.45 a.m. PT in the early hours of Friday morning, so don't forget to set an alarm.
NBC, which is also providing coverage of the French Open, can be accessed with one of the best TV antennas, while the Tennis Channel is available in some cable packages.
If you've cut the cord and don't have cable, you can watch Pegula vs Mertens via several live TV services, including NBC's own Peacock, plus Sling TV and Fubo.
Of these options, we recommend Peacock: It costs just $4.99/month with ads, or $9.99 without, and includes lots more great content in addition to French Open live streams from Roland-Garros.
If you go the Sling TV route, you'll want Sling Blue, which is $40 per month and comes with more than 40 channels, including NBC (in select regions). You can also add on the Tennis Channel as part of its Sports Extra package, for an extra $11/month. On the plus side, right now Sling is offering $10 off the first month.
Fubo, meanwhile, costs $75 per month for 121 channels. Sports fans will find a number of niche sports channels among its lineup.
If you already use those services but aren't in the U.S. right now, you can watch Pegula vs Mertens live streams by using a VPN such as ExpressVPN. And if, for whatever reason, you can't get it working, do remember that you have the comfort of a 30-day money back guarantee with ExpressVPN.
How to watch Pegula vs Mertens live streams in the UK
British tennis lovers can watch Pegula vs Mertens live streams from Roland-Garros with Discovery Plus and Eurosport. As Eurosport is part of Discovery Plus, it doesn't matter one which you subscribe to.
Pegula vs Mertens will start no earlier than 10.45 a.m. BST on Friday morning.
Discovery Plus is available for £6.99/month or £59.99/year. You can sign up for Discovery Plus here, or access the service via Amazon Prime Video — and here you can get a seven-day free trial of the service. Plus, if you don't already have Amazon Prime itself, you can get a 30-day free trial of that too.
On holiday this week? Sign up to ExpressVPN or another VPN service and you'll be able to use the services you already subscribe to.
How to watch Pegula vs Mertens live streams in Canada
Tennis fans in Canada can watch Pegula vs Mertens along with all the French Open action on TSN (in English) or RSN (in French), as part of a cable TV package.
Just note that Pegula vs Mertens will start at approximately 5.45 a.m. ET / 2.45 a.m. PT first thing on Friday morning, so be prepared to miss out on some sleep.
If you've cut the cord, you can sign up for TSN or RDS streaming accounts for $19.99 (CAD) a month or $199.90 per year.
Not at home right now? Use ExpressVPN or another VPN service to trick your device into thinking you're still in Canada.
How to watch Pegula vs Mertens live streams in Australia
As explained above, Aussies can watch a Pegula vs Mertens live stream for free on 9Now.
Pegula vs Mertens will start no earlier than 7.45 p.m. AEST on Friday evening.
The big match will likely air on the free-to-view 9Gem channel and via the on-demand service 9Now, but if not, every game is being live streamed ad-free and in up to 4K on Stan Sport.
Stan can be accessed via a wide variety of devices including many smart TVs, iOS and Android phones, Chromecast, Apple TV and more — plus it costs a very reasonable $20 AUD per month ($10 for a standard subscription and $10 for the Sport add-on). A 30-day FREE trial gives you a taste of the platform — and the good news is that the Sport add-on also has a 7-day FREE trial.
You'll need to pay extra to access HD or 4K streams and to increase the number of devices you watch on, but even if you go for the full-fat Premium sub with the Sport add-on, you'd still only be looking at $29/month.
Not in Australia right now? You can simply use a VPN, such as ExpressVPN, to watch Pegula vs Mertens on your Stan account, as if you were back home.
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