Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) reacts after profitable a degree in his quarterfinal match as he defeated Alexander Zverev (GER) within the BNP Paribas Open on the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit:
| Photo Credit: Reuters/USA Today
Carlos Alcaraz survived a swarm of bees that precipitated a virtually two-hour delay and went on to a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Alexander Zverev to attain the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday, March 14, 2024 night time.
Alcaraz swatted on the bees buzzing round him earlier than operating for canopy and the match was suspended 19 minutes in with Alcaraz serving tied at 1-1.
Dozens of bees hooked up themselves to the overhead spider digital camera that traverses the court docket and a person with none protecting masking used a vacuum to clear them off. The bee vacuumer was summoned to the court docket with a twig bottle that he used to douse seats and the partitions across the court docket.
The match resumed after a delay of 1 hour, 48 minutes. The precise enjoying time was 1:29.
Jannik Sinner defeated Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-3 to prolong his profitable streak to 16 consecutive matches this 12 months. He will play Alcaraz within the semis on Saturday.
Sinner’s run consists of the Australian Open title he received in January. The Italian is 19-0 total relationship to final 12 months’s Davis Cup. He’s received 21 of his final 22 units.
“You earn these things by working hard and believing,” Sinner stated in a Tennis Channel interview. “I’m just glad to be in this equation. It doesn’t matter if you’re 16-0 or whatever.”
Sinner made simply 4 unforced errors within the first set when Lehecka had 17 miscues.
Sinner received the lone break within the second set within the fourth sport with a backhand winner. Lehecka erased Sinner’s first match level within the eighth sport earlier than Sinner transformed his fourth match level in serving it out.
“I’ve improved many things which makes me more confident on the court,” Sinner stated.
Tommy Paul rallied previous ninth-seeded Casper Ruud 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 to attain his second profession Masters 1000 semifinal. The American received 25 factors on the web, which was a part of his sport plan.
“It was to play aggressive, come out and play my game and make him uncomfortable especially on the pressure points,” Paul stated. “I broke the (racket) string on match point and I was like, ‘Oh no,’ and kind of rushed the net and hoped for the best.”
Paul will play fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev within the different semifinal. Medvedev defeated Holger Rune 7-5, 6-4 on Thursday.
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek rallied from a 1-4 deficit within the first set and superior when Caroline Wozniacki had to stop their quarterfinal.
Coco Gauff defeated Yuan Yue 6-4, 6-3 in 1 1/2 hours regardless of 17 double faults in opposition to seven aces.
Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine defeated Russian Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 7-5 for the primary time in three profession conferences to attain the semifinals.
Maria Sakkari outlasted Emma Navarro, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 for the ultimate slot within the semis.
Swiatek was main 6-4 and had simply damaged Wozniacki to open the second set when the Dane retired due to a proper foot problem. She had jammed a toenail on her foot earlier within the match and had a coach retape it between units.
Wozniacki, the 2011 match champion and former world No. 1, raced to a 4-1 lead within the first when Swiatek dedicated lots of her 17 unforced errors.
But Swiatek turned it on from there, profitable the ultimate 5 video games to take the primary set. She broke Wozniacki in a four-deuce sport to shut out the set during which Swiatek had 17 winners in entrance of actor Will Ferrell.
Swiatek moved on to the semifinals for the third straight 12 months within the Southern California desert, having dropped simply 14 video games in her matches thus far. Wozniacki was within the seventh match of her comeback since retiring 3 1/2 years in the past, marrying and having two kids.
All eight quarterfinals had been being performed on the identical day for the primary time on the mixed ATP Tour and WTA Tour occasion.
