During the Madrid Open semifinal, Czech player Jiri Lehecka was forced to withdraw due to injury, marking another unfortunate moment in the tournament.
Lehecka, seeded 30th, encountered a back problem that led to his retirement at 3-3 in the opening set of his match against Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The withdrawal added to the string of injury-related exits seen throughout the tournament. Earlier, top seed Jannik Sinner withdrew before his quarterfinal due to a hip injury, while Jakub Mensik retired during the third round.
Reflecting on the situation, Auger-Aliassime expressed his sympathy for Lehecka, stating, “I couldn’t believe what was happening when I saw that his back blocked on him. I feel really bad for him.”
Get well soon, Jiri đź’”pic.twitter.com/3arVyiaG7t
— Relevant Tennis (@RelevantTennis) May 3, 2024
The incident underscores the physical toll and challenges faced by tennis players, especially during high-stakes tournaments like the Madrid Open.
Jiri Lehecka in 2024
Ranked world no.31, Jiri played his last match on the 3rd of May when he had to retire when playing against world no.35 Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semifinal and the scoreline was 3-3 .
At the moment, during this season Lehecka achieved a composed 17-9 win-loss record. This year, Lehecka won 1 title in Adelaide.
