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Bees attacked Alcaraz early in the first set,
and he had to use his racket to defend himself.
"It was strange. I've never seen something like that on a tennis
court," Alcaraz said. "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."
Tournament officials summoned Lance Davis from Killer Bee Live
Removal in nearby Palm Desert, Calif., to remove the pests, and
play eventually resumed.
Alcaraz finished his victory in 1:29, never facing a break point
and converting four of his five break opportunities.
"I'm really, really happy with the level that I'm playing,"
Alcaraz said. "The way I'm using the court, I think, is really
important for me, for my game. The opponent doesn't know what's
going to come next. Probably I'm going to return inside the
court, in the deep parts. It's kind of confusing for them.
That's my style, that's my game."
Next up for Alcaraz is a semifinal against third-seeded Jannik
Sinner. The Italian defeated 32nd-seeded Jiri Lehecka of the
Czech Republic 6-3, 6-3.
"I am just happy because I made the semifinals last year, and
this year I have a chance to play in the semis again," Sinner
said. "It is one of the greatest tournaments that we have in the
whole year, so I am really happy and pleased."
The other semifinal will feature 17th-seeded Tommy Paul of the
United States, who got past ninth-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway
6-2, 1-6, 6-3.
"I am really pumped with how I am playing," Paul said. "I like
how I am playing on the pressure points, on the big points. I am
excited for another match."
Paul's semifinal foe will be fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev of
Russia, who downed seventh-seeded Holger Rune of Denmark 7-5,
6-4.
--Field Level Media
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