Felix
Auger-Aliassime (No. 35) advanced to the final of the
Madrid Open after Jiri
Lehecka (No. 31) retired due to a back injury. The second semifinal witnessed
another withdrawal in an eventful Madrid Open, where injuries have been
abundant in the final stages of the tournament.
The Czech
player had progressed after
Daniil Medvedev's retirement during their
quarterfinal match. The Russian managed to play only five games before
suffering physical discomfort that forced him to retire at the end of the first
set.
On the
other side, Auger-Aliassime didn't even have to take to the court to face
Jannik Sinner, who also had physical issues and decided to withdraw from the
tournament to focus on the Rome Open next week.
There
wasn't much action in the match. Both players dominated with their serves in
the early games, and Lehecka easily saved a break point against him in the
third game. At 3-3, a medical time-out was called for Lehecka, who was
struggling with his back.
Auger-Aliassime will play his first final of the year
After just
over 8 minutes of a break, Lehecka returned to the court, but he only played
three points before collapsing in clear discomfort from the pain in his back,
forcing him to retire before finishing the game and granting Felix
Auger-Aliassime passage to his first Masters 1000 final.
Luck has
been on the Canadian's side in Madrid these weeks. Of the six matches that led
him to the final, he advanced three times due to his opponents' injuries.
First, in the third round, where he was leading 6-1, 1-0 against
Jakub Mensik
before the young Czech retired due to injury.
Later in
the quarterfinals, Sinner did not show up to play, so Auger-Aliassime advanced
directly to the semifinals, where only six games were played before he reached
his first Masters 1000 final. On Sunday, competing for the title will be Andrey
Rublev, who easily defeated
Taylor Fritz with a score of 6-4, 6-3.