Tennis clip is proof America thinks Aussies are nuts
One overlooked detail from the video clip that shocked the tennis world has America convinced Australian’s are crazy.
Straya.
The viral clip of an eastern brown snake invading the Brisbane International has America convinced Australians are completely nuts.
The tennis world was left in a spin after the snake suddenly appeared in the middle of former world No. 3 Dominic Thiem‘s qualifying match against Australian James McCabe on Saturday.
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The encounter was brought to a standstill for around 40 minutes after the snake slithered courtside.
McCabe had just wrapped up the first set 6-2 against the 2020 US Open champion when the reptile was spotted among electrical wires on the side of the court in front of spectators.
Play was halted until a snake catcher arrived and managed to tease it into a bag.
First the tennis at the Brisbane International is suspended because of storms then one of the courts is suspended due to a snake on the court.
— Matthew Tewhatu (@mtewhatu) December 30, 2023
Straya pic.twitter.com/tPqc6xPIle
Thiem is having some serious issues in this first round Qualies match. But if the snake the fans say is … in there right next to the court gets in there it could get dramatic pic.twitter.com/Y2WuKyVi9I
— Stephanie Myles (@OpenCourt) December 30, 2023
New footage of the incident has emerged, showing the crowd barely flinched as the drama unfolded.
Leading tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg summed up the reaction on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Wildest part is that there’s a venomous snake and everybody stays right there in their seats.
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) December 30, 2023
Australia. https://t.co/E4m0cDAC6z
The delay and slithery friend worked in the favour of Thiem as the Austrian star turned things around, saving three match points at 3-5 in the second set before winning it 7-4 in a tie-break.
That doesn’t mean he enjoyed it.
I really love animals, especially exotic ones,” Thiem said afterwards.
“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.”
Thiem went on to seal the result in the third set as he ran away to claim the final set 6-2.
After being among the worlds best, Thiem has endured a torrid run of injuries that saw his ranking tumble to outside the top 300.
He has begun the climb back up the rankings, currently sitting at 98 on the standings. He’ll be forced to enter qualifying for the opening Grand Slam of the year at the Australian Open.
Elsewhere at the Brisbane International, Rafael Nadal avoided meeting a seed first up at his comeback tournament after drawing a qualifier.
The 37-year-old Spaniard has been out of the game for almost 12 months following hip surgery after the 2023 Australian Open in January.
It was feared that Nadal, the winner of 22 Grand Slam singles titles, would never play professionally again.
However, he has fought his way back and was granted a wildcard to the season-opening Brisbane International in preparation for the first Grand Slam of the year at Melbourne Park beginning January 14.
If Nadal advances, he will play eighth-seeded Karatsev or Australian wildcard Jason Kubler in the second round, with fourth seed Ugo Humbert lurking as a potential quarter-final opponent.
Britain’s Andy Murray drew second-seeded Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in an intriguing first-round clash.
Murray is a two-time winner of the Brisbane International, and beat Dimitrov in the final in 2013.
In the women’s draw, four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka will be pitted against Germany’s world number 84 Tamara Korpatsch in the opening round as she makes her highly anticipated return.
The Japanese star, who gave birth to daughter Shai in July and has previously struggled with her mental health, has not played since September 2022.
If she sees off Korpatsch, she will face three-time Brisbane champion Karolina Pliskova in the second round.
World number two Aryna Sabalenka received a first round bye.
– with AFP
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