Alcaraz buzzing after seeing off bee invasion, Zverev in 'most unusual match'

Peter Staples/ATP Tour

Life on the ATP Tour can throw up all sorts of unexpected scenarios, but they don’t come much more unusual than being suddenly surrounded by a swarm of bees on court.

That was the situation facing Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev on Thursday at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. With Alcaraz serving at 1-1, 15/0, the arrival of the insects halted play for one hour and 48 minutes.

“For sure it is the most unusual match I have ever played in my career,” said Alcaraz in his post-match press conference. “I've never experienced something like that. I've never seen something like that.

“I think I will remember that match because of that. I think everybody will remember this situation, and we found it a funny thing, that's for sure.”

The lengthy delay while a beekeeper removed the swarm gave the second seed time to regroup. Although he still needed a few moments on court to put his stinging experience out of his mind, Alcaraz regained his composure superbly and charged to a 6-3, 6-1 triumph to avenge his defeats to Zverev at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals and January’s Australian Open.

“When we stepped on court [after the delay], there were a few bees in the corner that were bothering us," explained Alcaraz. "We couldn't start playing again. When we decided to warm up a little bit to see how it goes, I was just hitting some balls and saw some bees around me, so I couldn't stay focused on the ball. I was focused on the bees and tried to stay away from them.

“So that's why we stopped a few more times before the match began again, but after that we decided to warm up again and I saw that the bees weren’t around anymore. Just one or two, so I tried to not think about the bees anymore. I tried to stay focused on the ball, stay focused on the point.”

Upon resumption, Alcaraz held serve to love before immediately breaking Zverev’s serve, which ultimately proved decisive as he took the opening set.

“It was a really important game for me,” said Alcaraz of the restart. “I surprised myself that I stayed focus on the match, not on the bees. It was a great start from my side.”

Next up for Alcaraz in his Indian Wells title defence is a semi-final showdown with Jannik Sinner, who beat Jiri Lehecka in his quarter-final to extend his unbeaten start to 2024 to 16 matches. If Sinner can notch his third consecutive victory against Alcaraz on Saturday, he will on Monday replace the Spaniard as No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

“Honestly, I don't know how I'm going to approach the match,” said Alcaraz of the Sinner clash. "He's the best tennis player in the world right now, without a doubt… He's playing unbelievable, no losses this year. I really enjoy watching him play. So it's going to be a really difficult match. It's going to be a big challenge for me to see what my level is facing him.

"The last two matches that I have played against him I lost, so I have to adjust a little bit my game and let's see how it's going to be. For sure it's going to be the most difficult match that I'm going to play this year.”

Alcaraz and Sinner’s meetings have become renowned for thrilling, attacking tennis that keeps spectators on the edge of their seats. Both players have previously spoken about the unique atmosphere their rivalry seems to generate among watching fans, and Alcaraz is looking forward to channelling that energy as he looks to level his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Sinner at 4-4.

“For me it's great to have such a great energy from the crowd,” said the 20-year-old. “[The crowd has] different emotions, screaming my name, then laughing, or not believing what is happening in the game.

“For me, it's great. As I said many times, my best level shows up when I'm smiling, when I sometimes stay away from 100 per cent focusing on the match. Probably watching some of the crowd, dancing or making some funny faces or funny things that help me a lot to put a smile on my face and enjoy my time on the court.

“Having those different emotions from the crowd is really helpful for me and funny as well.”