Medvedev Retires; Auger-Aliassime Advances to Semifinals in Doha

DOHA, Qatar — Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal advanced to the semifinals of the Qatar Open on Thursday after Daniil Medvedev of Russia retired from their quarterfinal match due to an illness.

The match was halted after Auger-Aliassime claimed the first set 6-3. Medvedev, the fourth seed at the ATP 500 tournament, informed chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani that he could not continue, citing food poisoning.

“Very disappointed to end my run here in Doha like this as I feel like I was playing well,” Medvedev said in a statement following his retirement.

During the first set, Auger-Aliassime displayed strong form, winning 89 percent of his service points and scoring four aces in a performance where he didn’t face a single break point. He successfully broke Medvedev’s serve to go up 4-3 before closing out the set.

“I felt he was playing normal, but I don’t know how he feels,” Auger-Aliassime said in an on-court interview. “From my part, it felt very normal. I broke, I held my serve, and then he just told the chair umpire that he didn’t want to shake hands because he was sick.”

Having disturbed normal tournament progression, Auger-Aliassime remarked on the peculiar nature of his advancement: “It’s a weird week so far because normally you win three matches to get to this part,” he added. “I got through the first round, different conditions than the past weeks.”

Prior to this quarterfinal, Auger-Aliassime faced French qualifier Quentin Halys in the first round, which he survived with great difficulty, and proceeded to the quarterfinals after his second-round opponent, Hamad Medjedovic, withdrew due to a leg injury.

Auger-Aliassime now prepares to face Andrey Rublev in the semifinals, who is the fifth seed and has a 5-1 head-to-head advantage over the Canadian. Rublev advanced after a hard-fought victory against Australia’s Alex de Minaur, winning 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (8).

Reflecting on his upcoming match against Rublev, Auger-Aliassime noted, “There’s nothing like winning and actually finishing the match and feeling like, ‘Okay, I deserved it.’ This time it’s a little bit more weird.”

Auger-Aliassime’s path to the semifinals mirrors aspects of his run to the finals at last year’s Madrid Open, where he benefitted from two mid-match retirements and a walkover. The Canadian is currently seeking his third title of the season, having already won two ATP tournaments in 2025.

Meanwhile, Medvedev, who is ranked sixth in the world, must recover from his food poisoning in time for the upcoming Dubai Tennis Championships, which begin on February 24. The Russian will enter that tournament as the number one seed.

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