American second seed Carlos Alcaraz was attacked by a swarm of bees, forcing the referee to stop his match with Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open on March 14.
Centre Court at Indian Wells witnessed a rare incident when a large swarm of bees invaded the court, just nine minutes into Alcaraz and Zverev's match. The swarm surrounded Alcaraz's side of the court, forcing the Spaniard to cover his face and run to the locker room.
Alcaraz was confused when hundreds of bees swarmed into the yard.
The referee, who was also attacked by bees, stopped the match while the stadium management dealt with the incident. A beekeeper was called in, using an air blower to scare away the swarm of hundreds of bees. The process took a long time, delaying the match for nearly two hours. Alcaraz and Zverev went to the locker room, while many spectators, including billionaire Bill Gates, laughed and waited.
"It was weird, I've never seen anything like it on a tennis court," Alcaraz said. "It was a real bee invasion. It was pretty dangerous but also pretty funny."
Alcaraz and Zverev watched as staff dealt with the 1 hour and 48 minute incident at Indian Wells Center Court on the afternoon of March 14. Photo: ESPN
Alcaraz dominated Zverev when the match restarted at 1-1 in the first set. The Spaniard won a service game, while not allowing his opponent a break point to win 6-3. Zverev had beaten Alcaraz at the Australian Open earlier this year, but was defeated in this return. The German lost two service games in the second set, falling 0-4 behind and unable to turn the situation around. Alcaraz only allowed one point in the final two games, closing out the match with a 6-1 victory.
Alcaraz's 10th consecutive win at Indian Wells puts him in the semi-finals against Jannik Sinner. "He's a great player," Alcaraz said of his Italian counterpart. "He's playing very well, with a 16-match winning streak. I really enjoy watching Sinner play and I'm sure I'll have a tough match. This is a great and valuable challenge for me."
The other semi-final will be between 17th seed Tommy Paul and fourth seed Daniil Medvedev. Paul defeated Casper Ruud in three sets, while Medvedev continued his solid play, defeating Holger Rune in two sets, 7-5, 6-4. This is the only Masters 1000 hardcourt event Medvedev has yet to win. He reached the final last year, losing to Alcaraz.
Vy Anh
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