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Former US Open champion Dominic Thiem has had to battle two Aussie opponents in the first round of qualifying for the Brisbane International, with a deadly snake forcing the suspension of play.
- Play was temporarily halted when fans at the Brisbane International spotted a snake on the court on Saturday
- A snake catcher caught the deadly 50cm eastern brown snake, allowing play to resume
- Austria's Dominic Thiem went on to beat Australian youngster James McCabe in three sets
The former world number three was taking on Australian youngster James McCabe on Saturday, the Austrian veteran saving three match points before prevailing 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4.
The 30-year-old Thiem was under the pump in the second set when fans courtside spotted the snake.
Security staff were called in, but the umpire had to temporarily stop play when it slithered onto the court.
A snake catcher eventually captured the reptile — a deadly 50cm eastern brown — and removed it from the venue, allowing play to resume.
"I really love animals, especially exotic ones," Thiem said 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 it's something I'll definitely never forget."
Thiem had looked down and out at 3-5, 0-40 on McCabe's serve.
But he saved all three match points and forced a tie-break before eventually prevailing to move within one victory of the main draw.
"He [McCabe] was playing very well. He was serving extremely well I thought … it was a good win in the end," Thiem said.
Thiem reached the final of the Australian Open in 2020 when he pushed champion Novak Djokovic to five sets, and won the US Open later that year.
The Austrian also downed local hope Nick Kyrgios in the third round at Melbourne Park in 2021, but his career went into free-fall due to a troublesome wrist injury and flagging confidence.
Thiem has only reached the second round at a grand slam once since then, making it through the first round at Flushing Meadows this year.
His ranking at one point sank outside the top 300, but he has climbed back to world number 98.
Thiem will rely on late withdrawals to avoid qualifying for the Australian Open, having missed the cut-off for the main draw by one place.
AAP