Shanghai: Felix Auger-Aliassime retires with knee pain against Casper Ruud

Casper Ruud did not need to finish his set. On serve, 2-5 down in a first set running away from him, Felix Auger-Aliassime spoke to his bench, walked to the net and shook the Norwegian’s hand. The fourth seed was out of the Shanghai Masters in the last 16 on Wednesday, stopped by knee pain.

The pain appeared on a point at 2-1

The world No 6 described the moment himself, in comments carried by L’Équipe: “I felt something in my knee on a point at 2-1. I tried to keep playing, but the pain was too sharp. I will now go home for tests, and I hope it is nothing serious and I can play at the next tournament.” The exact nature of the injury is still unclear, and reports do not even agree on which knee.

He stays entered in Brussels, but he first wants to know what the rest of the season looks like for him. The retirement comes in the middle of the race to the ATP Finals.

A day earlier, the favourite at 1.70

The market had not seen the knee coming. The day before, Betano priced Auger-Aliassime at 1.70 and Ruud, the 20th seed, at 2.27: a Canadian win looked more likely than the Norwegian’s. Ruud moves into the quarter-finals without having to close out the set, and wherever the Canadian plays next, his price will follow his scans, not his ranking.