Felix Auger-Aliassime became the latest tennis star to suffer an injury in the latter stages of the season.
The Canadian was fighting to keep his chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals alive at the Swiss Indoors in Basel, and he was off to a strong start in his campaign.
He had won his first two matches at the ATP 500 tournament in straight sets, besting both Gabriel Diallo and Marin Cilic.
During his quarterfinal clash with Jaume Munar, however, Auger-Aliassime retired due to injury after losing the first set 6-3.
Munar’s walkover was one of three on Friday at the Swiss Indoors, following retirements from Casper Ruud and Denis Shapovalov.
After Auger-Aliassime pulled out of the event, he took to social media to issue an update for fans.
Felix Auger-Aliassime issues update after retirement in Basel
In a post on Instagram, the US Open semifinalist said: “Not the way I hoped to finish a good week in Basel.
“But nonetheless, good luck to Jaume, and I will be taking all the measures to try to be ready for Paris. Thanks for the support, and I will keep you updated.”
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The Swiss Indoors marked Auger-Aliassime’s first appearance during the indoor hard-court season, with the 25-year-old having not competed in Stockholm, Almaty, or Brussels.
His last tournament prior to his run in Basel was the Shanghai Masters, where he made the quarterfinals before losing to eventual finalist Arthur Rinderknech.
Auger-Aliassime will now try to recover for the final Masters event of the season in Paris, where qualifying is already underway.
Felix Auger-Aliassime’s draw at the Paris Masters
Despite being in the same half as world number one Carlos Alcaraz, Auger-Aliassime’s draw at the Paris Masters is quite favourable.
He will face a qualifier in his first match in the French capital, before going up against either Brandon Nakashima or Alexandre Muller in round two.
His quarterfinal opponent will likely come in the form of Ruud, who has been in impressive form recently, but the Norwegian has a losing record against Auger-Aliassime.
The Stockholm Open champion trails in their head-to-head 4-3, and has lost each of their three previous bouts.
- Cincinnati Open 2024 Round of 32 – Auger-Aliassime beats Ruud
- Paris Olympics 2024 Quarterfinals – Auger-Aliassime beats Ruud
- Madrid Open 2024 Round of 16 – Auger-Aliassime beats Ruud
Should Auger-Aliassime advance to the semifinals, he will hope to finally snap his losing streak against likely opponent Alcaraz.
The Spaniard has emerged victorious in their last four meetings, each of which he has won in straight sets.
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