Dominic Thiem’s Brisbane International qualifying match against Australian James McCabe was suspended for 40 minutes on Saturday after a 50cm eastern brown snake slithered courtside.
McCabe had just wrapped up the first set 6-2 against the 2020 US Open champion when the reptile was spotted among electrical wires on the side of Show Court 2 in front of spectators.
Play was halted until snake catchers arrived and managed to tease the deadly animal into a bag – reportedly earning a standing ovation from the crowd.
Thiem, a former world No 3, then turned things around after the long delay, saving three match points at 3-5 in the second set before winning in a 7-4 tiebreak, then sealing the third set 6-2.
“I really love animals, especially exotic ones,” Thiem said, per SMH. “But they said it was a really poisonous snake and it was close to the ball kids, so it was a really dangerous situation.
“It’s something that has never happened to me and is something I’ll definitely never forget. He was playing very well. He was serving extremely well I thought … it was a good win in the end.”
In recent years, Thiem has battled a series of injuries that saw him tumble outside the world’s top 300, but has since returned to world number 98 – missing out on Main Draw qualification for the Australian Open by just one place.
He’ll take on qualification for the year’s first grand slam in Melbourne, while he must win one more qualification match in Brisbane to reach the main draw.