Former US Open champion Dominic Thiem huffed and puffed his way into the main draw of the Brisbane International on Saturday, but not before a hissing intruder slithered onto the tennis court and halted play.
Thiem lost the opening set of his qualifying clash against Australian youngster James McCabe before eagle-eyed fans spotted a snake near the courtside electrical wires, prompting officials to call in security staff and stop play.
A professional was brought in to catch the 50cm reptile, which local media identified as a deadly eastern brown snake, holding up play for 40 minutes.
"I really love animals, especially exotic ones," Thiem said. "But they said it was a really poisonous snake and it was close to the ballkids, so it was a really dangerous situation."
"It's something that has never happened to me and is something I'll definitely never forget," the former world No 3 told reporters after the match.
Thiem, who has slipped to 98 in the world amid injury struggles, fought back in the second set before sealing a 2-6 7-6(4) 6-4 win to reach the main draw of the Australian Open tune-up tournament.
Former world No 1 Rafa Nadal will return to tennis at the Brisbane tournament on Sunday when he plays a doubles match alongside Marc Lopez, whom he partnered in 2016 to claim an Olympic gold medal.
The 22-times Grand Slam champion drew a qualifier in the singles draw as he geared up for the first stop of what could be his farewell tour, after shaking of a niggling hip injury that required surgery in June.
Naomi Osaka, Japan's four-times major winner, is also returning to tennis in the women's draw after her maternity break and plays Tamara Korpatsch.
