Carlos Alcaraz was stung on the facet of the brow when a swarm of bees descended on his Indian Wells quarter-final in opposition to Alexander Zverev.
Umpire Mohamed Lahyani was compelled to droop play within the third sport because the bees invaded the courtroom in California.
The match was delayed for one hour and 40 minutes earlier than defending champion Alcaraz received 6-3 6-1.
“For certain probably the most uncommon match I’ve ever performed in my profession,” Wimbledon champion Alcaraz stated afterwards.
“I noticed some bees round, however I believed it was only a few of them. However I noticed the sky and there have been hundreds flying, caught in my hair, going to me.
“It was loopy. I attempted to steer clear of them, nevertheless it was unattainable.
“I am slightly bit afraid of them. I needed to keep protected, and I used to be operating in all places.”
The bees have been notably drawn to the spidercam – a TV digicam which strikes above the courtroom on cables.
As soon as the gamers had left the courtroom and spectators had been faraway from one nook of the stands, the match’s beekeeper arrived.