Félix Auger-Aliassime is into his third semifinal of 2025 at the ATP 500 Qatar Open in Doha after Daniil Medvedev retired one set into their quarter-final clash on Thursday.
The Canadian had gotten off to a strong start, dropping just two points on serve as he took the opening set 6-3. Between sets, Medvedev announced he could not continue due to illness, sending Auger-Aliassime into the final four. It was the second match in a row where the Montrealer got a free pass to the next round as his second-round opponent, Hamad Medjedovic, was unable to play at all due to a leg injury.
While not a completed match, it still counts as Auger-Aliassime’s first victory over Medvedev on a hard court in eight attempts. His lone previous win over the former US Open champion was on clay last July at the Summer Olympics in Paris.
Auger-Aliassime had not even won a set against Medvedev on a hard court since taking a two-set lead in their epic 2022 quarter-final at the Australian Open. On that occasion, Medvedev won the last three sets to complete the comeback and then won their next three hard-court matches in straight sets, stretching his streak to 10 straight sets on hard courts over the Canadian.
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But that looked primed to change quickly on Thursday in Doha, as Auger-Aliassime was dominating on his serve early on. The Canadian won 12 of his first 13 service points to keep the pressure on Medvedev. At 3-3, Auger-Aliassime was able to get into a return game and scored the first break to go up 4-3.
After a routine hold to get within a game of taking the set, he broke Medvedev again to take his first set on a hard court against his rival in over three years. Having lost the last four games in a row, Medvedev had enough, withdrawing from the match with an illness.
Auger-Aliassime will aim to reach his third final already in 2025 when he takes on Andrey Rublev in the semifinals on Friday. Rublev leads their head-to-head 5-1.
