Play is suspended at Indian Wells tennis tournament due to an invasion of BEES – with world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and his opponent Alexander Zverev forced to run for cover

Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev were forced to take cover during their Indian Wells quarter-final on Thursday after a swarm of bees invaded the court.

In remarkable scenes more reminiscent of a horror film, thousands of bees descended on the main stadium in California, where the play was immediately suspended.

An incredible photo shows the insects all over the ‘spider camera’ gliding across the pitch, with officials forced to raise the camera high above the stadium in an attempt to take the bees with them.

The TV coverage showed a message on the screen describing that the game had been suspended due to a ‘bee invasion’.

In a clip broadcast on beIN Sports, Alcaraz can be seen running off the pitch and trying to knock the bees off his head as they took over the match – which was just nine minutes old.

The quarter-final match was one of the most anticipated of the tournament so far, with world No. 2 Alcaraz taking on world No. 6 Zverev for a place in the last four.

More to follow.