Indian wells: Alcaraz creates ‘buzz’ with Zverev scalp

Indian Wells (US), March 15

Carlos Alcaraz survived a swarm of bees that caused a nearly two-hour delay and went on to a 6-3 6-1 victory over Alexander Zverev to reach the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open.

Alcaraz swatted at the bees buzzing around him on Thursday night before running for cover and the match was suspended 19 minutes in with Alcaraz serving tied at 1-1.

Dozens of bees attached themselves to the overhead spider camera that traverses the court and a man without any protective covering used a vacuum to clean them off. The bee vacuumer was summoned to the court with a spray bottle that he used to douse seats and the walls around the court.

The match resumed after a delay of one hour, 48 minutes.

Jannik Sinner defeated Jiri Lehecka 6-3 6-3 to extend his winning streak to 16 consecutive matches this year. He will play Alcaraz in the semis tomorrow.

Sinner’s run includes the Australian Open title he won in January. The Italian is 19-0 overall dating to last year’s Davis Cup. He’s won 21 of his last 22 sets.

Tommy Paul rallied past ninth-seeded Casper Ruud 6-2 1-6 6-3 to reach his second career Masters 1000 semifinal. The American won 25 points at the net, which was part of his game plan.

Top-ranked Iga Swiatek rallied from a 1-4 deficit in the first set and advanced when Caroline Wozniacki had to quit their quarterfinal.

Coco Gauff defeated Yuan Yue 6-4 6-3 in 1 1/2 hours despite 17 double faults against seven aces. Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine defeated Russian Anastasia Potapova 6-0 7-5 for the first time in three career meetings. — AP