Felix Auger-Aliassime sent a message of support to his semifinal opponent Jiri Lehecka after the Czech was forced to retire due to an injury.

Auger-Aliassime has reached the first Masters 1000 final of his career. He defeated Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round before downing Adrian Mannarino in the second round. In the third round, his opponent Jakub Mensik retired mid-match.

The former World No. 6 upset recently-crowned Barcelona Open champion Casper Ruud to reach the quarterfinals. The top seed Jannik Sinner then gave a walkover, catapulting the Canadian into his third semifinal at the Masters 1000 level.

In Auger-Aliassime’s semifinal encounter, Lehecka retired due to an injury, with the score reading 3-3 in the first set. The Canadian sent a message of support to the Czech No. 1 during the customary signing of the camera.

“Sorry for you Jiri, you’ll be back,” Felix Auger-Aliassime wrote on the camera.

In an inopportune coincidence, Jiri Lehecka’s quarterfinal opponent Daniil Medvedev also retired during their match. Lehecka left a similar message for the Russian.

“Get well soon Daniil,” Lehecka wrote.

Felix Auger-Aliassime reacts to three back-to-back incomplete matches en route to the final at Madrid Open

Felix Auger-Aliassime has found himself in the final of the 2024 Madrid Open amid a slew of walkovers and retirements. Three of his opponents weren’t able to complete the message- Jakub Mensik in the third round, Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals and Jiri Lehecka in the semifinals.

The Canadian gave his perspective on the situation, saying it was the first time he had faced a situation like this.

“Yeah, that’s crazy, I don’t know if it has ever happened to a player before, kind of a weird situation to be in. On my part it’s never happened to me, in my career so far, like withdrawl or walkover or retirement of this sort and having back-to-back like this, I couldn’t believe what was happening when I saw that his back failed him and his back blocked on him,” Felix Auger-Aliassime said in the on-court interview.

Auger-Aliassime added that he felt really bad for Lehecka, having himself dealt with injuries.

“I felt really bad for him. I have dealt with injuries myself. We can all imagine what he feels like, to come out on a night like this and hoping to win, to go through, having a battle with your opponent and not being able to play. I have a lot of empathy for Jiri and I can’t do anything but try to prepare for Sunday,” he continued.