Stefanos Tsitsipas was forced to retire just minutes into his quarter-final match against Arthur Fils at the Barcelona Open.
The Greek player was trailing 2-0 in the opening set when he decided to withdraw from the contest.
Concerns arose as early as six minutes into the match when Tsitsipas called for a medical timeout. Although he returned to the court and attempted to carry on, his comeback was brief, and the world No. 16 ultimately chose not to continue.
While Fils advanced comfortably to the semi-finals, he showed visible frustration at progressing due to a walkover. After the match, he shared his thoughts: “We played six minutes and will now stop for six minutes…”
Fils added that he had anticipated a long, challenging match given how formidable Tsitsipas is, particularly in Barcelona, where the 26-year-old has reached the final in each of the past two years. Fils remarked: “I think it’s the back. I’m not very sure, to be honest.
“I was ready to battle for a few hours because he’s a champion. Every time we play we have tough matches. My wish is he’s going to be ready for the next weeks and for French Open. I wish him the best. I don’t know what he had but I wish him the best.”
Fils is set to take on Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals, with the Frenchman eager to avenge his recent loss to the world No. 3 at the Monte Carlo Masters.
He said: “I have another great match against Carlitos. We had a great fight in Monte Carlo. Let’s hope we have a nice fight tomorrow as well. Of course. The last match was very positive. Of course, I lost it, but still very positive.
“Tomorrow is going to be different. We are in Spain. He’s playing great here. I think he won twice already. So yeah, it’s going to be a nice one. I watched a little bit of the match against Alex… Let’s see how it goes tomorrow.”
