Pablo Scarpellini Los Angeles

The Angels

Updated Friday, March 15, 2024-03:12

  • Indian Wells The match between Alcaraz and Zverev resumes after an invasion of bees on the court that attacked the tennis players and the public

Carlos Alcaraz

overcame an uncomfortable opponent like

Alexander Zverev

to reach the Indian Wells semifinals in a match that they will hardly forget.

An invasion of bees,

stuck to one of the panoramic cameras, forced the match to be suspended for almost two hours, leaving unusual scenes on the center court of the Californian desert.

Alcaraz found himself surrounded by a cloud of insects and had to run off the court,

shaking them off with his racket.

One of them stung him near the forehead.

A beekeeper had to go out

to solve an unprecedented crisis

on the professional tennis circuit.

He ended up becoming a hero,

without any type of protection and

calmly vacuuming up the bees, fumigating the court afterwards, taking selfies with the stands and giving lessons on the plague of flying insects to the players on the court.

Luckily, the matter had a happy ending for the Spaniard.

He destroyed Zverev by a resounding 6-3, 6-1,

defeating him in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, meeting the Italian

Jannik Sinner

in the semifinals.

There is no doubt that Indian Wells is a tournament that Alcaraz is good at.

The conditions of heat and low humidity favor their game and as proof, the favorable results of recent years.

He already has a title in his bag after clearly beating Medvedev in last year's final, and this is

his third consecutive semi-final.

One of the panoramic cameras taken by the bees.MATTHEW STOCKMANGetty Images via AFP

Only the bees made

the Murcian feel uncomfortable on the track.

The rest was an exhibition of offensive tennis.

Zverev felt like no one else the stings of an Alcaraz shot towards his second title in Indian Wells, with sensations similar to those he left after beating Novak

Djokovic

at Wimbledon last year.

Only two games had been played (1-1) when the bees attacked Alcaraz.

It took them two hours to return and the person from El Palmar did not seem convinced, still worried about the insects.

It was a temporary distraction.

The break, clearly, suited the Spaniard much better than the German.

He took the next three games and did not give up the lead throughout the entire set, displaying a remarkable level of play.

Alcaraz did an impeccable job controlling the Teuton's serve, probably his most lethal weapon.

Zverev usually wins 75% of his points on the first serve.

The Spaniard was

fine compared to the rest and was superior in the exchange of blows,

much fresher in ideas than his rival.

Already in the second set he raised the level one more step and swept the German giant off the track, which found no response to the gale of play of the world number two.

A bee about to be picked up from the court, minutes before the game reopens.FREDERIC J. BROWNAFP

Ahead, what seems like

the toughest match left,

against Sinner, a rival that has lost only one game all season.

He has 16 consecutive victories, including seven at the Australian Open, the Rotterdam tournament and a smooth road so far in Indian Wells.

It will be the eighth clash between two tennis players who herald

a historic rivalry between them.

The last two fell on the Italian's side, but the current champion in this tournament is Alcaraz.

The swords, in full height.