An unusual situation that occurred this Thursday night – in the Californian afternoon – on the center court of Indian Wells. Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev met in one of the most attractive matches of the quarterfinals, but after only two games played, the match was suspended for almost two hours.
The reason: a brutal invasion of bees in the main stadium of what is considered the fifth Grand Slam. This is what the ATP has officially announced: “Play suspended, bee invasion.” (Match suspended, bee invasion).
It was with 15-0 for Alcaraz, and with a 1-1 on the scoreboard, when everything was precipitated. The Murcian tennis player was going to serve for 30-0 when, suddenly, a large number of bees appeared on the scene and surrounded the area where the Spaniard was and also the chair umpire, Mohamed Lahyani, who assured that it was something “very dangerous.”
Even Alcaraz had to push away some bees with his racket and had to take shelter immediately, as did Lahyani and Zverev, who was looking to qualify for the Indian Wells semifinals for the first time.
Minutes later, it was confirmed that the current world number 2 and winner of this same tournament last year had suffered a bite on his forehead but was already being treated. Furthermore, the bees were located, so it had not been necessary to evacuate the track.
The tournament called a beekeeper who, without any type of protection, managed to keep the bees away from the affected chamber and the area, and subsequently the tournament indicated that, in 10 minutes, the players could return to the court.
It was a few minutes before 1:00, Spanish time, when Zverev and Alcaraz took to the court again. At first, they began to warm up but Alcaraz had to stop the exchange because some bees were still in the area and he did not feel comfortable at all.
Once again, the beekeeper has reappeared, ensuring that the bees that continued along the center court were no longer stinging, and after speaking with the tournament organizers, Alcaraz and Zverev warmed up again to finally resume their quarterfinal match. final, but after having seen once again the charm of the Californian desert.
