Bee invasion halts Carlos Alcaraz's game in Indian Wells, stung on forehead
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Carlos Alcaraz, currently ranked second in the ATP, is unafraid of any adversary. As he strives to reclaim the top spot from Novak Djokovic, the Spaniard faced an unexpected challenge this afternoon during his quarterfinal match at the Indian Wells Masters 1000.
The match between Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev had to be suspended in the third game, with the score tied at 1-1, due to an invasion of bees.
Alcaraz was about to serve when chair umpire Mohamed Layhani alerted him to the danger of serving amidst the bees. At 15-0 in the third game, Alcaraz was stung on the side of his forehead by one of the bees.
Albert Molina, Alcaraz’s agent, confirmed to MARCA that the match would resume in 40 minutes after the bees were removed with the assistance of a beekeeper.
“Carlos is in danger,”Layhani warned Alcaraz, who quickly ran to his team’s corner, grabbed a towel to swat away the bees, and sought refuge in the locker room tunnel. Zverev and the line judges followed suit, leaving the court.
During the pause, Zverev entertained himself by playing soccer in the players’ warm-up area. Meanwhile, tournament owner Larry Ellison attempted to maintain a sense of normalcy by sitting in one of the boxes.
The bees had not only taken over the court but also the cameras, including the Spidercam, positioned throughout the venue.
As fans looked on, terrified by the unusual interruption, the stadium announcer lightened the mood with a joke: “It had already happened to me once in Guadalajara,” he remarked.
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