Felix Auger-Aliassime received another stroke of luck on Friday as he advanced to the Madrid Masters finals after a second straight fluke win on the Spanish clay.
The Canadian advanced into a title bout against Andrey Rublev after the seventh seed defeated Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-3 in their semi-final.
FAA earned his second win after securing a quarter-final walkover against injured top seed Jannik Sinner as he defeated Jiri Lehecka 3-all, with the Czech quitting after 33 minutes with lower back pain.
Lehecka had also benefitted, moving ahead when his quarter-final opponent Daniil Medvedev had to quit with a groin strain after one set on Thursday.
“I feel really bad for him,” FAA said. I’ve had injuries myself, and we can all imagine how it feels to come out on a night like this, 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.”
Rublev, eighth in the world, has beaten the Canadian in four of five matches dating to 2018.
