The world No. 35 led Mensik 6-1 1-0 when the teenager retired. And he was due to take on Sinner but received a walkover following his withdrawal. With Lehecka's retirement, Auger-Aliassime has only played three fully completed matches in this tournament but now finds himself in his biggest career final.

Like Lehecka did on Thursday, the Canadian shared a heartfelt message for his injured opponent as he signed the camera. "Sorry for you Jiri. You'll be back," Auger-Aliassime penned. He later addressed the injury issues in Madrid, also touching on Carlos Alcaraz's recent withdrawal from the Italian Open.

The 23-year-old said: "I don’t think it’s about me right now, I think it’s about these players. Jannik had to pull out of the tournament, we saw Carlos pulling out of Rome today. Crazy times, crazy times for the elite of our sport, withdrawing from many events."