The quarterfinal match between Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament was halted for almost two hours Thursday after a swarm of bees invaded the court.
After nine minutes, Alcaraz, ranked second in the world by the ATP Tour, prepared to serve, tied 1-1 with Zverev, ranked sixth by the ATP Tour.
Bees invaded his side of the court and he fled to the locker room before chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani suspended play, the ATP Tour said on its website.
“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 crazy. I tried to stay away from them, but it was impossible,” Alcaraz told the BBC.
The stoppage began at around 3:20 p.m., according to a match summary from the BNP Paribas Open website.
Beekeeper Lance Davis, president of Killer Bee Pest Control Inc. in Palm Desert, California, arrived about 45 minutes into the stoppage to vacuum the bees off the spider camera that traverses the court, without using protective gear.
The delay lasted one hour and 48 minutes before play resumed, the ATP Tour said.
