"There were thousands... one was hitting on me" - Carlos Alcaraz addresses "crazy" bee invasion in Indian Wells QF; admits to being "afraid" of them

Carlos Alcaraz admitted to being afraid of the bees after he was attacked by them during his quarterfinal match against Alexander Zverev at the Indian Wells Masters 2024.

Alcaraz avenged his Australian Open loss to Zverev in emphatic fashion as he thrashed the German in straight sets on Thursday, March 14. He remained unchallenged on his serve and in turn, broke Zverev four times to claim a 6-3, 6-1 victory in less than 80 minutes.

However, in a separate battle on Thursday, he lost to the bees that swarmed the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and forced him to show his back and run for cover. It happened during the first set as confirmed by the defending champion himself during his post-match press conference.

"I won the first point of the third game of the match, and I was ready to serve to the next point. I saw some bees around, but I thought it was just a few of them, just not too many. But I saw the sky and there was thousands, thousands flying, stuck in my hair, going to me. It was crazy. One of them was hitting on me," he said.

The World No. 2 failed to stand his ground against the bees for as long as he remained in the open.

"But yeah, I tried to stay away from them, but it was impossible. As I said, stuck in my hair, so I was running out. I'm a little bit afraid of them. I had to stay safe, and yeah, I was running everywhere," Carlos Alcaraz added.

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Carlos Alcaraz: "The most unusual match I have ever played in my career"

Alexander Zverev (L) and Carlos Alcaraz watch the bees getting removed from the stadium

During the same press conference at the Indian Wells Masters 2024 on Thursday, Carlos Alcaraz termed his quarterfinal meeting with Alexander Zverev the most unusual on-court experience of his life thus far.

"For sure the most unusual match I have ever played in my career. I've never experienced something like that. I've never seen something like that," he said.

He reckoned everyone who watched the match would remember the bee attack for life.

"So I think I will remember that match because of that. I think everybody will remember this situation, and we found it as a funny thing. That's for sure," the 20-year-old added.

Carlos Alcaraz will next clash with Jannik Sinner to earn a place in the final at Tennis Paradise for the second year in a row.