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A large swarm of bees invaded the Indian Wells Quarter-final clash between Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev, halting the game for over one hour and thirty minutes. It was during the 19th minute of the game that thousands of bees started to invade the game and took over the spider cam which resulted in the game being suspended for over an hour. Both the players rushed off the court immediately.
The incident occurred during their third game when the Spaniard was about to serve the ball, thousands of bees surrounded the star player as he was seen swinging the rackets wildly. Chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani immediately suspended the game. ‘Ladies and gentlemen we are surrounded here. Play is paused, play cannot continue.” he affirmed.
The World no.2 Spaniard’s manager later revealed that Alcaraz was stung on the forehead by the bees. It happened before he rushed off the court. However, he insisted he was fine as only one among the thousands had stung him. Later on, a beekeeper Lance Davis was called to vacuum the bees from the camera equipment and the stadium. He got cheers from the crowd as he went on to vacuum the area without any protection or a suit.
Alcaraz through to semis after beating Zverev
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz weathered the bee storm early in the match and later on defeated the sixth seed Alexander Zverev by 6-3, 6-1. With this win, he set up a semi-final date with Jannik Sinner in the Indian Wells. The World no.2 will meet the Italian maestro, who is coming into this match with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Jiri Lehecka in the quarters which was his 16th consecutive win this year.
