A swarm of bees has invaded centre court at Indian Wells during the men's quarterfinal between Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev.

Alcaraz was interrupted by a mass of bees as he attempted to serve in the third game of the opening set, before chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani halted play.

"Ladies and gentleman, play is suspended due to a bee invasion," Lahyani announced to the centre-court crowd at the prestigious tournament.

Using his racquet to swat away the bees, world number two Alcaraz came under further attack as he ran to take refuge in the locker room, before he was joined by Zverev.

More bees could be seen congregating under the aerial camera that hovers over centre court at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Bees were also attracted to the TV camera lenses positioned courtside.

Spectators were initially amused, but some were forced to take cover themselves.

A local beekeeper was called by tournament organisers, with one of his tasks being the removal of the bees on the aerial camera.

When the players returned to the court, Lahyani told them there were still some bees around and Zverev joked that he was fine to play on his side of the court.

The beekeeper was summoned back to the court with a spray bottle and was cheered wildly by the crowd.

He posed for selfies with fans, causing Alcaraz and Zverev to laugh as they watched him wander the seats spraying for bees. He also doused the walls around the court.

Play eventually resumed after the delay lasted one hour and 48 minutes, with Alcaraz triumphing 6-3, 6-1.

Alcaraz will next play Australian Open champion and third seed Jannik Sinner, who continued his perfect start to the season by dispatching Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-3 to improve his win-loss record this year to 16-0.

Tommy Paul, seeded 17 in Indian Wells, defeated ninth seed Casper Ruud 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 in their quarterfinal.

In the women's draw, top seed Iga Świątek reached the semifinals after former world number one Caroline Wozniacki retired with an apparent foot injury early in the second set.

Świątek , the 2022 Indian Wells champion, will face Ukranian Marta Kostyuk in the semifinals. Kostyuk defeated Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 7-5.

US Open champion Coco Gauff also advanced to the last four, beating Yuan Yue 6-4, 6-3.

ABC/Wires