Felix advances to Madrid final after Lehecka retires

Felix Auger-Aliassime will play Andrey Rublev in Sunday’s championship match at the Mutua Madrid Open. The Canadian advanced to his maiden ATP Masters 1000 final after Jiri Lehecka was forced to retire just seven games into the pair’s last-four clash Friday in the Spanish capital.

The 30th-seeded Lehecka, who withdrew from Monte-Carlo and Barcelona last month with a right vertebrae issue, clutched his lower back in pain during the sixth game of the night session semi-final. After Auger-Aliassime held serve for 3-3, Lehecka left court for treatment from the physio. He tried to continue playing upon his return, but called proceedings to a halt three points later.

A former No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Auger-Aliassime will chase the biggest title of his career when he takes on Rublev at the Caja Magica in the pair’s sixth tour-level meeting. Rublev, who earlier beat Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-3, leads the Canadian 4-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series and triumphed in three sets in their most recent encounter in February in Rotterdam.

Such bad luck 💔@felixtennis chalks up a maiden Masters 1000 final as Lehecka is forced to retire with injury@MutuaMadridOpen | #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/wUiLv0mikz

— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 3, 2024

It was the second time this tournament that Auger-Aliassime advanced after his opponent was unable to complete a match. Jakub Mensik retired in the second set of his third-round clash with the Canadian, who later advanced through the quarter-finals via walkover due to a hip injury for Jannik Sinner.

“It’s crazy. I don’t know if I’s every happened to a player before,” said Auger-Aliassime. “It’s kind of a weird situation to be in on my part. It’s never happened to me in my career so far, a withdrawal or a walkover or retirement of this sort, and back-to-back like this. I couldn’t believe what was happening when I saw his back locked on him.

“I feel really bad for him. I’ve had injuries myself, and we can all imagine how it feels to come out on a night like this, hoping to win to go through, having a battle with your opponent, and not being able to play. I have a lot of empathy for Jiri, and I can’t do anything but try to prepare for Sunday.”

Despite his relative lack of match action so far in Madrid, Auger-Aliassime has shown signs of getting back to his best at the Caja Magica. He downed the in-form Casper Ruud in straight sets in the fourth round, and will on Sunday contest his 15th ATP tour final, and his first since last October in Basel.

Regardless of the result on Sunday, Auger-Aliassime’s first Masters 1000 final appearance will give him a significant boost in Monday's edition of the PIF ATP Rankings. He has currently risen 15 spots to No. 20 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, and he will rise a further three spots to No. 17 if he can beat Rublev on Sunday.

Lehecka’s run to his first Masters 1000 semi-final will on Monday lift him eight spots to a joint career high of No. 23 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Madrid was the first tour-level tournament since Miami in March for the 22-year-old Czech, who was chasing a second ATP Tour title of the season after he lifted his maiden crown in January at the Adelaide International.