Carlos Alcarez breezed to the semi-finals of the Indian Wells competition, defeating Alexander Zverev 6-3 6-1 in the quarters. However, the match was not without its drama but the biggest surprise of the match-up had little to do with tennis.
During the third game, umpire Mohamed Lahyani was forced to suspend play after bees invaded the court in the Californian desert. The match ended up being delayed ‘due to bee invasion’ for one hour and 40 minutes before defending champion Alacarez, 20, came back to defeat the German former world number two in two sets.
Speaking to the press after his win, the defending Champion of the competition said: “For sure the most unusual match I have ever played in my career. I saw some bees around, but I thought it was just a few of them. But I saw the sky and there were thousands flying, stuck in my hair, going to me.
It was only after the players and spectators had left the court and been removed from one area of the stands that the tournament’s beekeeper arrives. The bees appeared to be particularly attracted to the spider-cam which a tournament organiser has said is due to the low frequency waves.
The organiser said: “This area, at this time of the year, can be a hotspot for bees, with all the flowers blooming and blossoming. In addition, the bees can be attracted to low frequency waves, and music bass, as they feel vibrations and are attracted to those locations.”
A vacuum was used to suck the bees out of the camera and into a cage so they could later be released. A few bees persisted with the beekeeper returning to spray the scoreboard and as he walked back through, he exchanged high gives and posed for selfies with the crowd.
The Wimbledon champion and world number two will now take on Australian Open winner Jannik Sinner – world number three – in the semi-finals and the former has admitted he does not know how he will fare. “I don’t know how I’m going to approach the match. He’s the best tennis player in the world right now, without a doubt. For sure it’s going to be the most difficult match that I’m going to play this year.”
Tommy Paul and Danil Medvedev make up the other semi-final in the men’s tournament while Iga Swiatek will take on Marta Kostyuk and Coco Gauff will face Maria Sakkari in the women’s semi-finals.
