Alcaraz has more trouble from bee swarm than Zverev
Carlos Alcaraz survived a swarm of bees that caused a nearly two-hour delay and went on to a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Alexander Zverev to reach the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday night at Indian Wells.
Alcaraz swatted at the bees buzzing around him before running for cover and the match was suspended 19 minutes in with Alcaraz serving tied at 1-1.
Dozens of bees attached themselves to the overhead spider camera that traverses the court and a man without any protective covering used a vacuum to clean them off. The bee vacuumer was summoned to the court with a spray bottle that he used to douse seats and the walls around the court.
The match resumed after a delay of one hour, 48 minutes. The actual playing time was 1:29.
Jannik Sinner defeated Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-3 to extend his winning streak to 16 consecutive matches this year. He will play Alcaraz in the semis on Saturday.
Sinner's run includes the Australian Open title he won in January. The Italian is 19-0 overall dating to last year's Davis Cup. He's won 21 of his last 22 sets.
“You earn these things by working hard and believing,” Sinner said. “I'm just glad to be in this equation. It doesn't matter if you're 16-0 or whatever.”
Sinner made just four unforced errors in the first set when Lehecka had 17.
Tommy Paul rallied past ninth-seeded Casper Ruud 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 to reach his second career Masters 1000 semifinal. The American won 25 points at the net, which was part of his plan.
Daniil Medvedev advanced with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Holger Rune.
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek rallied from a 1-4 deficit in the first set and advanced when Caroline Wozniacki had to quit the quarterfinal.
Coco Gauff defeated Yuan Yue 6-4, 6-3 in 11/2 hours despite 17 double faults against seven aces.
Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine defeated Russian Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 7-5 for the first time in three career meetings to reach the semifinals.
Maria Sakkari rallied to beat American Emma Navarro, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the semis.
Swiatek was leading 6-4 and had just broken Wozniacki to open the second set when the Dane retired because of a right foot issue. She had jammed a toenail on her foot earlier in the tournament and had a trainer tape it between sets.
Wozniacki, the 2011 tournament champion and former world No. 1, raced to a 4-1 lead in the first when Swiatek committed many of her 17 unforced errors.
But Swiatek turned it on from there, winning the final five games to take the first set. She broke Wozniacki in a four-deuce game to close out the set in which Swiatek had 17 winners.
Swiatek moved on to the semifinals for the third straight year.
Duvall a Brave again
Adam Duvall is returning for another stint with the Atlanta Braves, who signed the slugging outfielder to a $3 million deal for the 2024 season.
Duvall, 35, is expected to platoon in left field with newcomer Jarred Kelenic, who has struggled in spring training after being acquired from Seattle. Kelenic had just three hits in 34 at-bats, with three RBIs, one stolen base and nine strikeouts. With it becoming apparent that the lefthanded hitter wasn't ready to handle the job on a regular basis, the Braves found a solid right-handed option.
Duvall hit .247 with 21 homers and 58 RBIs last season with the Boston Red Sox. He played in just 92 games, missing two months after fracturing his left wrist attempting to make a diving catch.
This will be Duvall's third stint with the Braves. He is best known for playing a key role in the team's run to the 2021 World Series title after being acquired from Miami in one of several deals ahead of the trade deadline that helped Atlanta rebuild its injury ravaged outfield.
That season, Duvall topped 30 homers for the third time in his career, led the NL with 113 RBIs and won a Gold Glove Award.
• The Milwaukee Brewers will open the season without All-Star closer Devin Williams, who won't throw for six weeks and could miss at least three months while recovering from two stress fractures in his back.
• National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. returned to the Atlanta Braves' spring training lineup in Northport, Fla., two weeks before opening day.
Acuña played for the first time since feeling soreness in his surgically repaired right knee after a rundown during a Feb. 29 game against Minnesota. Taking no chances, the Braves sent him to Los Angeles to be examined by Dodgers head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who had operated after Acuña's season-ending knee injury in 2021.
ElAttrache found only irritation in the meniscus of the knee, clearing the way for Acuña to gradually increase his baseball activities in preparation for the March 28 opener to the regular season at Philadelphia.
• The Cleveland Guardians lost a key reliever for the year, one of their starters won't be ready for opening day, and a top pitching prospect is expected to miss his second full season in a row.
Trevor Stephan, who was in line to set up All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase, will have ulnar collateral ligament reconstructive surgery within the next two weeks.
Cleveland also said righthander Gavin Williams will begin the season on the injured list. That all came a day after hard-throwing Daniel Espino had his second shoulder surgery since being a first-round draft pick in 2019.
Athletes sue NCAA over Title IX issue
Former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines was among more than a dozen college athletes who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing Lia Thomas to compete at the national championships in 2022.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, details the shock Gaines and other swimmers felt when they learned they would have to share a locker room with Thomas at the championships in Atlanta. It documents a number of races they swam in with Thomas, including the 200-yard final in which Thomas and Gaines tied for fifth but Thomas, not Gaines, was handed the fifth-place trophy.
Another plaintiff, Tylor Mathieu of Florida, finished ninth in the preliminary heats of the 500 free, which left her one spot from swimming in the final that Thomas would go on to win. Thomas was the first openly transgender athlete to win a Division I title in any sport, finishing in front of three Olympic medalists for the championship. By not making the final, Mathieu was denied first-team All-American honors in that event.
The lawsuit said the plaintiffs “bring this case to secure for future generations of women the promise of Title IX that is being denied them and other college women” by the NCAA.
The NCAA declined comment on the lawsuit.