Dominic Thiem pulls out of Qatar ExxonMobil Open with Illness

Doha:  Top seed Dominic Thiem pulled out of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open with flu just hours before his semifinal match against Frenchman Gael Monfils on Friday.

World No 5 Thiem, the only seeded player in the quarterfinals, had reached the last four in impressive fashion and was looking good to add to his eight ATP titles.

Instead, he will now look to regain his health before the Australian Open while his semifinal opponent Monfils will progress to the final where he will meet the winner of the match between Guido Pella and Andrey Rublev.