Flaujae Johnson, Aneesah Morrow and Mikaylah Williams on Expectations, Growth and What it'll Take to Run it Back in the Tournament | SLAM
World no. 6 Daniil Medvedev played well in Doha, especially in comparison to his previous tournaments. However, the 2023 champion had to end his campaign in the quarter-final after retiring versus Felix Auger-Aliassime following the opening set.
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Felix grabbed the opener 6-3 after a double break, and Daniil retired without shaking hands with his rival or the chair umpire. The Russian explained his setback, citing food poisoning and hoping to recover for next week's ATP 500 event in Dubai.
Medvedev's retirement surprised his rival, who did not notice anything wrong in his game. Daniil stayed in touch in the first half of the set before suffering back-to-back breaks and leaving the court after only halfan hour.
Auger-Aliassime served well and dropped four points in as many service games. He avoided break points and mounted the pressure on the Russian. World no. 6 served well early on and led 3-2 before fading away from the court.
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Medvedev closed the opening game of the match with a service winner, and Auger-Aliassime hit an ace in game two for 1-1. Daniil grabbed three straightpoints in the third game for another lead. The Canadian landed an ace in game four and repeated that at 2-3 for a boost.
Felix made a push on the return at 3-3 and converted a break chance after Daniil's costly double fault. Auger-Aliassime moved 5-3 up after a backhand crosscourt winner in game eight. Medvedev lost steam and struggled behind the initial shot in game nine.
The Canadian generated two set points with a forced error and landed a forehand winner on the first. Thus, he clinched the set 6-3 and moved over the top following the Russian' s unexpected retirement.
"Unfortunately I had food poisoning. I'm very disappointed to end my run here in Doha like this as I feel like I was playing well. I look forward to coming back next year," Daniil Medvedev said.
