Auger-Aliassime advances to Qatar Open semifinals after Medvedev retires with illness

By Canadian Press on February 20, 2025.

DOHA — Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the semifinals of the Qatar Open tennis tournament after Russia’s Daniil Medvedev retired from their quarterfinal with an illness.

Auger-Aliassime won the first set of Thursday’s match 6-3 before Medvedev, who was seeded fourth at the ATP 500 tournament, left the court.

The 24-year-old Canadian won 89 per cent of his service points and had four aces in a dominant first set on which he didn’t face break point.

Auger-Aliassime advanced to a semifinal Friday against Russian fifth seed Andrey Rublev despite winning just one complete match in Doha.

He survived a tough first-round match against French qualifier Quentin Halys, then advanced to the quarterfinals when second-round opponent Hamad Medjedovic of Serbia withdrew with a leg injury he sustained in a first-round upset of sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Auger-Aliassime improved to 2-7 against Medvedev and will also be in tough against Rublev, who holds a 5-1 advantage in their head-to-head series.

Auger-Aliassime, who came into the tournament ranked 23rd in the world, is seeking his eighth ATP title and third this year.

Rublev, advanced to the semifinals with a 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (8) win over second seed Alex de Minaur of Australia.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 20, 2025.

The Canadian Press

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