Rublev will face Auger-Aliassime in the final of the Madrid Open

Seventh seed Andrey Rublev will play Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final of the Madrid Open.

The Russian defeated Taylor Fritz from the USA 6:4 and 6:3 to reach his second final of the year.

He faces world number 35 Auger-Aliassime after 30th seed Jiri Lehecka retired midway through the first set of the second semi-final.

A lower back injury meant that Lehecka went down in the seventh game when the score was 3-3 and the Czech was unable to continue.

It is the third time in the tournament that Auger-Aliassime has advanced due to an injury to his opponent.

He reached the last four after top seed Jannik Sinner withdrew before the quarter-finals with a hip injury, while the 23-year-old was the starter when Jakub Mensik was forced to retire injured in the last 32.

Injuries were an unwelcome theme of the tournament for Lehecka, who beat Rafael Nadal en route to his first ATP Masters 1000 semifinal, the opponent when third seed Daniil Medvedev took a set in Thursday's quarterfinal match.

But while Auger-Aliassime will move into Sunday's final having played just half a set since Tuesday, Rublev has chosen a more conventional route to the final.

He battled second seed Carlos Alcaraz in three sets in the quarterfinals before claiming victory over Fritz in straight sets in the semifinals.

The 12th seed Fritz came off his feet in the opening game of the match, but Rublev hit right back before closing out the first set.

Rublev had to fend off two break points at the beginning of the second set and secured the decisive break in the middle of the set.