A tennis match between Venus Williams and Diana Shnaider has been interrupted by a cat.
Yes … a cat.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Miami Open match paused for stray cat.
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Williams was serving at deuce in her first-round Miami Open match, with a 2-1 lead within the second set after dropping the primary, when she was referred to as for a “let” — regardless of hitting a clear serve into the field with out hitting the web tape.
Initially confused, the 43-year-old tennis legend shortly had her unstated query answered when the chair umpire defined the furry purpose for the interruption.
“There is a cat on the court and that is the reason for the let,” one commentator stated.
Another added: “That, I have not seen before.”
The match was briefly stopped whereas the cat disappeared and gamers took a second to recompose themselves.
Seven-time grand slam champion Williams ultimately misplaced her break of serve within the second set and went down in straight units, 6-3, 6-3.
The event is already with out Novak Djokovic on the lads’s facet. He skipped the Miami Open after a shock loss at Indian Wells to steadiness his “private and professional schedule”.
Djokovic’s announcement on Saturday on his social media accounts adopted his shock 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 defeat to unheralded Luca Nardi 5 days earlier within the third spherical of the Indian Wells occasion.
“At this stage of my career, I’m balancing my private and professional schedule. I’m sorry that I won’t experience some of the best and most passionate fans in the world,” Djokovic wrote.
Nardi, who’s ranked No.123, grow to be the lowest-ranked participant to beat Djokovic in a grand slam or ATP Masters 1000 degree occasion, surpassing No.122 Kevin Anderson in 2008 in Miami.
The 36-year-old Djokovic is a six-time champion in Miami, the hardcourt event that begins subsequent week.
– With AAP