Feliciano Lopez must be looking gloomy. After the exits of Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, the withdrawal of Jannik Sinner even before his quarter-final, the director of the Masters 1000 in Madrid saw Daniil Medvedev abandon Thursday in the Caja Magica. The world number 4, who had by force of circumstances become the unofficial favorite of the tournament, held a set lost 6 games to 4 in 41 minutes against Jiri Lehecka, 31st in the ATP ranking, before throwing in the towel. The Czech therefore took the opportunity to qualify for the semi-final against Félix Auger-Aliassime on Friday.
Already deprived of a quarter-final in this men’s draw, the Madrid spectators will therefore only have been entitled to half a match. And again, the circumstances in which the only set of the game was played were so special that the show was inevitably affected. After only five games, Daniil Medvedev called on the physiotherapist and immediately took a medical timeout, leaving center court.
Too disabled, Medvedev ultimately did not insist
Returning 7 to 8 minutes later, the Russian looked gloomy when the game resumed. And for good reason, visibly suffering from adductor muscles, he appeared very handicapped in his lateral movements quickly. Medvedev nevertheless insisted on continuing a few games, perhaps hoping that the pain would be less severe with time and the effect of the anti-inflammatories he probably took. He began to attack all the balls and systematically go to the net to shorten the rallies. The tactic initially worked, with Lehecka appearing perturbed by the situation and struggling to keep the ball in the court.
But the Czech ended up extending the exchanges a little and making his very limited opponent move laterally. Logically, he made the break at 4-4 and won the first set on his serve. In the process, Medvedev advanced towards the net to signal that he was putting an end to this mock match. Clearly, this Masters 1000 in Madrid seems cursed. And as Roland-Garros approaches, these numerous injuries among the big names – Alcaraz also suffering from his right forearm even if he seems to be getting better and better – are cause for concern.
