Lehecka retires, Fils is seeded for the French Open!
Unfortunately, Jiri Lehecka lost his race against time. After a brilliant tournament in Madrid, Lehecka was injured in his semi-final. After defeating Rafael Nadal in the last 16 (7-5, 6-4), he took advantage of Medvedev's withdrawal (6-4, ab.) before suffering another injury. In tears, the Czech was finally forced to retire against Auger-Aliassime (3-3 ab.).
Unfortunately, the injury to the world's 23rd-ranked player proved too serious and he will not be able to play in Paris. Roland-Garros thus loses its first major player. Let's hope that the Porte d'Auteuil doesn't become a hecatomb.
That said, another player will benefit from his withdrawal: Arthur Fils. The Frenchman, ranked 34th in the world this week and winner of the Bordeaux title (against Martinez in the final, 6-2, 6-3), is now guaranteed top seed in Paris. After withdrawing from the Lyon tournament, where he was title-holder, the risk of arriving at Roland-Garros without protected status was present for Fils.
In the end, this was not to be, and the 19-year-old can now rest assured that he won't be facing a huge favorite in his first match. It now remains to be seen whether Arthur will be able to live up to his new status and make the Parisian public dream.
