(Reuters) – Former U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem huffed and puffed his way into the main draw of the Brisbane International on Saturday, but not before a hissing intruder slithered onto the court and briefly halted play.
Thiem lost the opening set of his qualifying clash against Australian youngster James McCabe before eagle-eyed fans spotted a snake near the courtside electrical wires, prompting officials to call in security staff and stop play.
A professional was brought in to catch the 50-cm (20-inch) reptile, which local media identified as a deadly eastern brown snake, holding up play for 40 minutes.
“I really love animals, especially exotic ones,” Thiem said. “But they said it was a really poisonous snake and it was close to the ballkids, so it was a really dangerous situation.”
“It’s something that has never happened to me and is something I’ll definitely never forget,” the former world number three told reporters after the match.
Thiem, who has slipped to 98 in the world amid injury struggles, fought back in the second set before sealing a 2-6 7-6(4) 6-4 win to reach the main draw of the Australian Open tune-up tournament.
The year’s first Grand Slam begins on Jan. 14 in Melbourne.
Former world number one Rafa Nadal will return to tennis at the Brisbane tournament on Sunday when he plays a doubles match alongside Marc Lopez, whom he partnered in 2016 to claim an Olympic gold medal.
The 22-times Grand Slam champion drew a qualifier in the singles draw as he geared up for the first stop of what could be his farewell tour, after shaking of a niggling hip injury that required surgery in June.
Naomi Osaka, Japan’s four-times major winner, is also returning to tennis in the women’s draw after her maternity break and plays Tamara Korpatsch.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonali Paul)
