Austrian former US Open champion Dominic Thiem successfully secured his place in the main draw of the Brisbane International tennis tournament on Saturday after a match interruption due to a snake. Thiem lost the first set in his qualifying match, which is part of the preparations for the Australian Open, against rising Australian James McCabe, before the audience discovered the snake near the fence surrounding the court. The match was paused for about 40 minutes until the snake was removed.
Thiem, previously ranked third in the world, told reporters after the match, "I really love animals, especially the exotic ones. But they said the snake was venomous and it was close to the ball collectors, so it was indeed a dangerous situation. I've never faced such a circumstance before and I certainly won't forget it."
Thiem, who has dropped to 98th in the world due to injuries, fought back in the second set before winning 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 to ensure his participation in the tournament. The Australian Open, the first of the four Grand Slam events of the new season, is set to begin on January 14 at Melbourne Park and will run until the 28th of the month.
Former world number one Rafael Nadal will return to the courts at the Brisbane International on Sunday, playing a men's doubles match alongside Marc Lopez, with whom he won the Olympic gold medal in 2016. Japanese player Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, will also return to the courts through Brisbane after a break due to maternity leave during which she gave birth to her daughter, Shai.
