Carlos Alcaraz (n.2), who defeated Alexander Zverev (n.6) this Thursday in the quarterfinals of Indian Wells, He admits that he is a little afraid of bees. after the attack of hundreds of these insects forced to suspend the fight for almost two hours.
“I’m not going to lie: I’m a little scared of bees.“said the Spaniard with a laugh and in the ATP statements.
“I see some bees when I’m warming up (to continue the fight) so I’m not one hundred percent with the bees there. The referees told me to try it but I’m not 100% sure. to start the game again,” he said.
Only 9 minutes of the match had been played (1-1, 15-0 for Alcaraz) when the chair umpire ordered to stop the match on the center court of the Californian desert tournament because that “invasion of bees” – in his words – made it impossible to play.
Alcaraz, who had the most bees on his side of the track, suffered a bite without major consequences and both tennis players ran to the locker room.
The source of the problem is a ‘spidercam’, a high-altitude camera that moves suspended by cables and on which hundreds of flying insects are installed.
Then the unexpected savior of the day steps in: a beekeeper. who, armed with a vacuum cleaner and surprisingly without any kind of protection on his face or hands beyond sunglasses, managed to remove the bees from that room and also from the rail and the first rows of stands.
The beekeeper was greeted with applause from the fans and smiles from the tennis players as soon as he returned to the court, although Alcaraz was not happy when the duel resumed as he continued to find some isolated bees, for example in his clothes and things.
His most “unusual” match and Sinner as his next rival
Already at the press conference, Alcaraz assured It was the “most unusual game” he has played in his career.
“He had never experienced anything like that. I’ve never seen anything like it. I think I will remember this match for that. “I think everyone will remember this situation and it was quite funny, of course,” he said.
“I was ready to serve when I saw bees around, but I thought it was just a few, not many. But I looked at the sky and there were thousands: flying, hanging on my hair, towards me. It’s crazy. One of them hit me. “I tried to stay away from them but it was impossible,” he said.
Current Indian Wells champion, Alcaraz will face Italian Jannik Sinner (n.3) in the semifinalswho won the last edition of the Australian Open and are unbeaten in 2024 (19-0 also counting their last three matches in 2023).
“He is the best tennis player in the world today, without a doubt.” praised Alcaraz.
“He is playing in an incredible way, without defeats this year. I really enjoy watching him play so it is going to be a very difficult game. It is going to be a great challenge for me to see what my level is,” he graduate
Source: La Verdad
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