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Alcaraz goes into action and prepares the Sinner SF confrontation
Defending champion faces Sinner
March 15, 2024
Carlos Alcaraz in action on Thursday at the BNP Paribas Open.
By ATP staff
Carlos Alcaraz was keeping the bees out of his head just nine minutes into his BNP Paribas Open quarterfinal match against Alexander Zverev.
The Spaniard swung his racket to protect himself from the swarm of bees, which suspended play for one hour and 48 minutes. But Alcaraz did his own damage with a monstrous ball strike to defeat the German 6-3, 6-1 and earn a place in the Indian Wells semi-finals.
“It was strange, I had never seen anything like that on a tennis court,” Alcaraz said. “When we ran off the field, we were watching the bee invasion on TV and we laughed a lot. It was fun for me. “He will be remembered for that, not for tennis.”
The bizarre incident occurred in the 20-year-old’s second service game of the match, when bees surrounded him and completely covered the spider chamber in Stadium 1. “I looked up at the sky and there were thousands (of bees) flying around, trapped in my hair, going towards me. It was crazy,” Alcaraz said.
A beekeeper was called to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and Alcaraz later prevented Zverev from defeating him for the third time in six months.
The defending champion came out of the delay in top form, breaking Zverev’s serve in the German’s first service game and using his momentum to advance after one hour and 29 minutes.
“We decided to warm up again and I saw that the bees were gone. Just one or two,” Alcaraz said. “So I tried not to think about the bees anymore. I tried to focus on the ball, focus on the point.”
Alcaraz launched forehand winners at speeds of up to 100 mph and covered every corner of the court to perfection. He produced consistency to deflate the German, who at one point needed 34 shots to outlast the Spaniard for a single point.
“I’m very, very happy with the level I’m playing,” said Alcaraz, who made just 13 unforced errors, compared to Zverev’s 26. “I think the way I’m using the court is really important to me. for my game. The opponent does not know what will come next. I’m probably going to return some inside the court and in the deep spots. “It’s a little confusing for them, that’s my style, that’s my game.”
The World No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings fell just four points behind his first delivery to improve to 4-5 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Zverev.
Alcaraz, a 12-time tour champion, has won 10 consecutive matches at Indian Wells. He is in his eighth Masters 1000 semi-final, where he will face Jannik Sinner, who has beaten the two-time Grand Slam champion in four of their seven meetings.
“I don’t know how I’m going to approach the match. He’s the best tennis player in the world right now, without a doubt,” Alcaraz said of the Italian, who is 16-0 in 2024. “He’s playing incredible.” , there are no defeats this year. I really enjoy watching him play. So it will be a really difficult match. “It will be a great challenge for me.”
Zverev, 26, was aiming to complete his quest to reach the semi-finals in all nine ATP Masters 1000 events.