Canadian Olympic bronze medalist Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal, Quebec is in the semifinals of the 2025 Qatar Open in Doha. On Thursday, Auger-Aliassime beat Russia’s Daniil Medvedev 6-3. Medevedev withdrew after the first set due to illness.
Auger-Aliassime had the advantage in the first set when it came to the serve. He had four aces and no double faults. Medvedev had two aces and one double fault.
This was the second straight match where Auger-Aliassime was the benefit from a withdrawal. Hamad Medjedovic of Serbia withdrew from the second round because of an upper calf injury. It is surprising that Medjedovic got through his first round match against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece with a 7-6, 5-7, 7-6 win with the ailment.
There are striking comparisons between the 2025 Qatar Open and 2024 Madrid Open. A year ago in Spain, Auger-Aliassime reached the final after injuries due to Jakub Mensik and Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic, and Italy’s Jannik Sinner. It should be noted Auger-Aliassime withdrew himself earlier this month after two sets from his first round match against Italy’s Andrea Vavassori due to a toe injury in Rotterdam.
Auger-Aliassime next faces fellow Russian Andrey Rublev in the semifinals. Auger-Aliassime is 1-5 against Rublev, with his only win coming in the semifinals of Rotterdam in 2022 (6-7, 6-4, 6-2).
