• Wion
  • /Sports
  • /Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz overcomes bees and Alexander Zverev to advance to Indian Wells semis

Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz overcomes bees and Alexander Zverev to advance to Indian Wells semis

Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz overcomes bees and Alexander Zverev to advance to Indian Wells semis

Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz withdraws from ATP Italian Open with arm injury

Carlos Alcaraz looked back at his best as he swatted aside a swarm of bees and world number six Alexander Zverev to reach the semi-finals at Indian Wells on Thursday (March 14), setting up a clash with the in-form Jannik Sinner.

The world number two took the interruption to clear the bees from the court in his stride before racing past Zverev 6-3 6-1 in little more than 90 minutes to keep his title defense on track.

Zverev did not play badly but Alcaraz's all-court game was just too good, the 20-year-old Spaniard sealing the victory by breaking the German for the fourth time and taking his winning streak in the Californian desert to 10 matches.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

"It was strange, I've never seen something like that at a tennis match," twice major champion Alcaraz said of the invasion of the bees.

ALSO READ |T20 World Cup 2024: ICC to release additional tickets for 13 matches on March 19

"I'm not going to lie, I'm a little bit afraid of the bees. Once the match started again, I managed to stay away from the bees and do the things I needed to do."

Italian Sinner earlier continued his perfect start to the season by cruising past Jiri Lehecka 6-3 6-3 to improve his win-loss record this year to 16-0.

A windy, cool day did little to slow down the hottest player on the men's tour as Sinner was in control throughout, facing a single break chance the entire contest while his opponent piled up unforced errors.

Local hope Tommy Paul also reached the semi-finals with a 6-2 1-6 6-3 win over Casper Ruud. He will play the winner of the remaining quarter-final between Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune.

About the Author

Aditya Vidyadhar Pimpale

Parth Seth is a research fellow at India Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank, where he studies the themes of development, foreign policy, and multilateralism, particularly in ...Read More