Third seed Daniil Medvedev retired injured from his Madrid Open quarterfinal clash with Jiri Lehecka on Thursday, a day after Jannik Sinner was forced to withdraw from the clay-court tournament.
Russia's Medvedev needed a medical time-out early in the last eight match and struggled through to the end of the first set with an apparent upper thigh problem, losing it 6-4 before retiring.
Czech Lehecka progressed to his first Masters 1000 semifinal, where he will face Felix Auger Aliassime, who received a walkover after top seed Sinner withdrew Wednesday with a hip problem.
"It's never easy in a match like this," said Lehecka.
"If I were to choose the way how to win this match, it wouldn't be like that.
"It's never easy to see your opponent struggling, but at that moment, you just need to focus on yourself, trying to get the maximum level out of yourself."
Touch of class @jirilehecka ✍️👏@MutuaMadridOpen | #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/bCnxdTHWi5
— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 2, 2024
Medvedev took an off-court medical timeout after the fifth game, all holds of serve, and when he returned clearly had problems moving freely around the court.
The world No 4 saved two break points to hold for a 4-3 lead as Lehecka floundered, laughing to himself at his fortune in winning the seventh game despite playing through obvious pain.
The Czech, who knocked-out Rafael Nadal on Wednesday, settled down and capitalised on Medvedev's woes to break in the ninth game for a 5-4 lead, serving it out as his opponent went long.
Medvedev won just four of the last 16 points before deciding to call it a night, with fans left disappointed. The other men's quarterfinal set for Thursday had been cancelled after Sinner's withdrawal.
The 28-year-old Medvedev is the defending champion at the Italian Open, which starts next week, while the French Open, the season's second Grand Slam event, gets under way in just over three weeks' time.
Taylor Fritz will face Andrey Rublev in the other semifinal on Friday, after the Russian ousted home favourite Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday.
The final 4️⃣ in the Spanish capital 👀@MutuaMadridOpen | #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/KoGkc6IliV
— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 2, 2024