Dominic Thiem’s match in opposition to James McCabe on the Brisbane International qualifying occasion was halted for a weird cause when a lethal snake was noticed on court docket.
The Austrian misplaced the opening set 6-2 to McCabe earlier than the snake made its approach onto the again of Show Court 2.
A snake catcher was referred to as to seize the 50cm japanese brown snake, with play resuming after a 40-minute delay.
Thiem, 30, admitted afterwards it was one of the crucial memorable moments of his profession.
“I really love animals, especially exotic ones,” Thiem stated after the match.
“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.”
After the delay, the 2020 US Open champion rallied to safe a comeback victory. He saved three match factors at 3-5 down within the second set earlier than recovering to win a tie-break and pressure a decider.
He wrapped up the hard-fought win 6-4 within the third set to advance to the second and ultimate qualifying spherical.
Thiem suffered a wrist harm in 2021 that noticed him tumble down the rankings and he simply missed out on an computerized spot in the principle draw for the upcoming Australian Open, with will get underway on January 14 stay on Eurosport and discovery+.
The Austrian wants only one participant to withdraw from the primary Grand Slam of 2024 to guarantee he makes his tenth look at Melbourne Park, however he’s slated to play in Australian Open qualifying.
Also within the draw for the qualifying occasion is Emma Raducanu, who has been out of motion since April after present process ankle and wrist surgical procedures.
Another participant making his extremely anticipated comeback imminently is Rafael Nadal. The 22-time Grand Slam champion is within the discipline for the Brisbane International, which is about to be his first event for the reason that 2023 Australian Open.
