BNP Paribas Open
Hundreds of bees invade Indian Wells tennis tournament
It’s a pretty incredible scene that took place during the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, California: a quarter-final between Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev had to be interrupted after the invasion of a swarm of bees .
Alexander Zverev, German player ranked 6th in the ATP, and Carlos Alcaraz, Spaniard ranked 2nd in the world, certainly did not expect that during their quarter-final in Indian Wells, California. And even less in the quarter-final of a Masters 1000, the most prestigious tournament category behind the four Grand Slam tournaments which are the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open.
Chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani announced that the match would be suspended until further notice, while some spectators also left the court to protect themselves.
After about 45 minutes, beekeeper Lance Davis, president of Killer Bee Live Removal of Palm Desert, arrived as a savior. Very calmly, the man, who was not wearing any protective suit, vacuumed up the bees, which had taken up residence on the Spidercam. He then took selfies with the public who courageously remained in the stands.
Iga Swiatek defeated Greece’s Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-0 in just over an hour to win the women’s section.
Iga lost only 21 games in six matches during this WTA 1000 category tournament. It was also her 20th victory of the season, a record within the circuit.
The final was a repeat of last year’s, which Swiatek won 6-4, 6-1. Sakkari, ninth in the world, has not beaten her Polish rival since 2021.
Swiatek took an early 3-0 lead in the first set. Sakkari recovered by winning three games in a row, recording a break at the expense of her opponent. Swiatek, however, only lost two points with balls in hand before the end of the round.
The champion was more dominant in the second set, breaking Sakkari’s serve three times. Swiatek won 76% of rallies when his first ball was in play.
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