By Melissa Woods
Former US Open champion Dominic Thiem had to battle two Australian opponents in the first round of qualifying for the Brisbane International after a deadly snake forced a suspension of play.
The former world No.3 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.
Thiem, 30, was under the pump in the second set when fans courtside spotted a snake.
Security staff were called in, and the umpire had to temporarily stop play when the snake slithered onto the court.
A snake catcher eventually captured the deadly 50-centimetre eastern brown, and removed it from the venue, allowing play to resume.
The brown snake is considered the world’s second-most venomous land snake.
Thiem looked down and out at 3-5, 0-40 on McCabe’s serve. But he saved all three match points and forced a tie-breaker before eventually prevailing to move within one victory of the main draw.
Dominic Thiem’s Brisbane International qualifying match on Saturday was interrupted by a deadly snake.Credit: Getty
“I really love animals, especially exotic ones,” Thiem said. “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. He [McCabe] was playing very well. He was serving extremely well I thought ... it was a good win in the end.”
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.
He downed 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.
A snake catcher on court during Dominic Thiem’s match with James McCabe.
His ranking sank outside the top 300, but he has climbed back to world No.98.
He will rely on late withdrawals to avoid qualifying for the Australian Open, having missed the cut-off for the main draw by one place.
Meanwhile, Alexei Popyrin will face Chris O’Connell in an all-Australian clash as part of an intriguing Brisbane International first round.
The pair will headline the action on Pat Rafter Arena on Sunday night in the tournament’s first staging as a mixed gender showpiece since 2019.
Thanasi Kokkinakis will play up-and-comer Rinky Hijikata, and Jordan Thompson will meet Aleksandar Vukic – the pair ranked 55 and 62 respectively – no earlier than Monday after the draw was revealed on Saturday.
Rafael Nadal will play a qualifier in his return from a long-term hip injury – also no sooner than Monday.
AAP
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