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Tennis fans recently reacted to Carlos Alcaraz winning against Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals at the Indian Wells Masters despite a swarm of bees causing a brief interruption.
Defending champion Alcaraz defeated Zverev 6-3, 6-1 in one hour and 29 minutes to secure a place in the semifinals at the BNP Paribas Open. This win marked the Spaniard's 10th consecutive win at Indian Wells and his eighth Masters 1000 semifinal appearance.
However, the match was not without its share of drama. Just nine minutes into the game, the court was suddenly swarmed by bees, causing a suspension of play for over an hour and a half. This unexpected interruption took place during Alcaraz's second service game, with bees surrounding him and even covering the spider-cam.
After the bizarre incident, Alcaraz still managed to dispatch the German with ease and fans were thrilled to see the World No. 2 win and advance to the next round. They took to social media to share their thoughts on the match.
One fan likened the swarm of bees to a "biblical plague" but noted that even this could not prevent the Spaniard from claiming the win.
"Not even a Biblical plague could stop him today," a fan posted on Reddit.
Another fan marveled at Alcaraz's resilience, suggesting that not even a supposed bee sting could deter him from winning.
"Post Sting Alcaraz won't be denied," the fan posted.
Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans:
Carlos Alcaraz on the bees attack: “It was strange, I’ve never seen something like that on a tennis court”
Following his victory against Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz reflected on the unexpected incident that saw bees swarm the tennis court in Indian Wells.
The World No. 2 stated that the match would probably be remembered for the 'strange' bee invasion rather than the tennis played on the court.
“It was strange, I’ve never seen something like that on a tennis court. When we ran out of the court, we were watching the bee invasion on the TV and we laughed a lot about it. It was funny for me. It’s going to be remembered for that, not for the tennis,” Alcaraz said.
Alcaraz recounted how the bees were everywhere, with some even clinging to his hair.
"I saw the sky and there were thousands [of bees] flying, stuck in my hair, going to me. It was crazy," Alcaraz said. "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 focussed on the ball, stay focussed on the point."
Alcaraz will next go up against the World No. 3 and 2024 Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
