WATCH: Highly venomous snake causes disturbance at Brisbane International, interrupts Dominic Thiem's qualifying match for 40 minutes
Dominic Thiem scored a memorable comeback in his first match of the 2024 season, coming from a set down to beat James Mccabe in the first round of qualifiers at the Brisbane International.
What was more interesting about the Austrian's win was that it witnessed a rather unique interruption when a highly venomous snake caused a disturbance by making an appearance on the court.
Thiem was trailing in the second set when an approximately 50 cm-long eastern brown snake, a venomous species native to eastern and central Australia, was spotted near the electrical wires along the sides of the court. A professional snake wrangler was called to safely remove the reptile, and it took nearly 40 minutes before it was successfully caught and taken away.
Here's a video of the incident, posted by tennis journalist Gaspar Ribeiro Lanca on Twitter:
Thiem, having lost the opening set 2-6, went on to snatch the next two sets 7-6,(4), 6-4 to reach the final round of qualifying at the ATP 250 event after the break. Up next, he will take on Giulio Zeppieri on Sunday.
Speaking about the incident afterward, Dominic Thiem admitted that he had never had something like this happen to him. The former US Open champion further added that it was a moment he was never going to forget.
"I really love animals, especially exotic ones," Thiem said in quotes collected by the BBC. "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."
Dominic Thiem could face Rafael Nadal if he reaches the main draw at Brisbane International
If he beats Zeppieri in the second qualifying round at the 2024 Brisbane International, Dominic Thiem could end up facing Rafael Nadal in the first round of the tournament. Nadal, returning to action at the event after an injury lay-off that lasted almost 12 months, has been drawn to face a qualifier in his opener.
Thiem has a closer head-to-head record against the Spaniard than most players, trailing only 6-9. Three of their most recent fixtures, in fact, have gone in favor of the 30-year-old. However, in Grand Slams, Nadal has proven to be the much better player, triumphing in five of the six meetings they have had over the years in the best-of-five format.
Thiem might also end up facing Sebastian Baez, JJ Wolf, Ugo Humbert or Daniel Altmaier in the main draw.