Felix Auger-Aliassime reaches first ATP Masters 1000 final in Madrid when Jiri Lehecka retires

Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime is through to the biggest final of his career in Madrid after playing just six complete games when his opponent, Czech Jiri Lehecka, retired from their Mutua Madrid Open semifinal match on Friday due to injury.

The abridged semifinal match, which ended with the score knotted at 3-3 in the opening set, continued what's been an unfortunate theme for Auger-Aliassime's opponents this fortnight: Another Czech Jakub Mensik, retired due to injury after losing the first set against him in the third round, and No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner withdrew ahead of their scheduled quarterfinal match with a hip injury.

The 22-year-old Lehecka, who had knocked out Rafael Nadal in what's expected to be the Spaniard's final Mutua Madrid Open in the fourth round, left the court for an off-court medical timeout prior to serving in the seventh game, after an apparent lower back problem put the No. 30 seed in distress at the midway point of the set.

“It’s crazy. I don’t know if I’s every happened to a player before,” Auger-Aliassime said. “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 blocked on him."

The youngster played just three more points in his first ATP Masters 1000 semifinal, falling to the court at the 30-0 point, before approaching the net in tears as Auger-Aliassime comforted him with a hug and kind words. An emotional Lehecka ended the match by smashing his racquet at the side of the court.

"Sorry for you, Jiri," Auger-Aliassime wrote on the broadcast camera to sign off from the match. "You'll be back."

“I feel really bad for him," the 23-year-old continued. "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.”

By virtue of reaching Sunday's final against Andrey Rublev, Auger-Aliassime, who had been hampered by a knee injury himself for much of the last year, will return to the Top 20 in the ATP rankings on Monday. The Canadian had previously been 0-2 in Masters 1000 semifinals, and will take a 4-1 losing head-to-head against Rublev into their second clay-court meeting. The first came six years ago. Four of their five prior meetings went to a third and final set.