There was confusion at the Qatar Open on Thursday as Daniil Medvedev suddenly retired in the middle of his quarter-final match.
Felix Auger-Aliassime took the first set 6-3 and headed to his bench for the changeover while Medvedev approached the chair umpire.
The official then announced that Medvedev had retired, and the No. 4 seed walked off court without shaking his opponent’s hand. Auger-Aliassime and the commentators were baffled by the Russian’s sudden decision.
Medvedev has been having a disappointing season so far – he went 1-1 at the Australian Open and 1-1 again in Rotterdam. But he started to turn things around in Doha, winning back-to-back matches for the first time in 2025.
The world No. 6 beat reigning champion Karen Khachanov in his opening match and, on Wednesday, destroyed Nuno Borges for the loss of just three games.
But there was a disappointing end to his Qatar Open campaign on Thursday, as the former champion retired suddenly. Auger-Aliassime reeled off four games in a row to take the opening set 6-3 and Medvedev suddenly threw the towel in.
There were no signs that Medvedev was struggling and the Canadian was unaware that his opponent was about to retire. He sat on his bench as usual for the end-of-set changeover.
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