Deadly venomous snake disrupts Thiem's qualifying match
Dominic Thiem turns around an exciting match in Brisbane. The former US Open winner wins against Australian Jamese McCabe despite falling behind. But someone steals the show away from him: a venomous snake. One of Australia's deadliest reptiles strays onto the edge of the court.
Former US Open winner Dominic Thiem had an unintentional encounter with Australian wildlife at the tennis tournament in Brisbane and experienced a scary moment. During the Austrian's qualifying match against Australian James McCabe, one of Australia's most venomous snakes strayed onto the court at the ATP tournament. The referee had to interrupt the match at the end of the first set before the animal could be removed by an expert.
It was an eastern brown snake about 50 centimetres long, one of the deadliest reptiles in Australia. "I really love animals, especially exotic ones," said 30-year-old Thiem. "But this was a really venomous snake and it was near the ball kids, so it was a really dangerous situation."
Nobody was injured in the incident, partly because spectators spotted the snake in time between power cables at the edge of the court. An expert came and lured the snake into a bag. "Something like that has never happened to me before, it's something I'll definitely never forget," said Thiem. No match was possible for 40 minutes, but the Austrian did not allow himself to be rattled decisively.
The former world number three is fighting to return to the top of the world rankings after his long injury break. After his final victory over Alexander Zverev at the 2020 US Open, he was repeatedly set back by wrist problems. Thiem is currently ranked 98th in the world. The 30-year-old overcame the first qualifying hurdle in Brisbane against the 20-year-old McCabe, winning 2:6, 7:6 (7:4), 6:4 despite initially trailing by a considerable margin and facing several match points.
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Thiem's encounter with the dangerous reptile underscores the diverse wildlife Australia is known for. Despite the disturbance, the tennis court eventually became home to a game of doubles, with Thiem and his opponent, McCabe, teaming up against the elusive eastern brown snake.
Source: www.ntv.de
