A cursed edition! Jiri Lehecka, also forced to drop out in Madrid due to an injury

A cursed edition! Jiri Lehecka, also forced to drop out in Madrid due to an injury

Jiri Lehecka (22) did not enjoy his most important semi-final for a long time. At the Masters 1000 on clay in Madrid, the best Czech tennis player abandoned at 3-3 in the first set due to new back pains that appeared in the duel with Félix Auger-Aliassime (23 years old). The Canadian tennis player, who has benefited from other withdrawals, including the Italian Jannik Sinner, will play for the trophy against the Russian Andrey Rublev.

Jiri Lehecka was first affected by back pain during the US Masters 1000 in March, and after a month’s layoff in which he missed the Monte Carlo and Barcelona tournaments, he started the clay season in Madrid.

In the Spanish capital he appeared in good physical condition for a long time. He dealt with Hamad Medjedovic and Thiago Monteiro, claimed a valuable scalp from Rafael Nadal and qualified for the Masters 1000 semi-finals for the first time after taking advantage of Daniil Medvedev’s quarter-final exit himself.

But the Czech tennis player was stopped on his way to his third and biggest final to date by further back pain. He lasted just six games against Félix Auger-Aliassime before retiring with a pained grimace and a sense of sadness.

“It’s crazy. My opponents drop out, they don’t feel comfortable. I didn’t know Jiri had problems,” Auger-Aliassime said in the post-match interview. “I’ve been playing good tennis since the beginning of the tournament and I’m sorry that the matches are like this. But unfortunately that’s part of tennis”he added.

Results of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid