The dramatic incident occurred on a tennis court in Brisbane during an ATP tournament qualifying match between Austrian Dominic Thiem and Australian James Mackay. The game was suddenly interrupted by the appearance of a poisonous snake right on the court, writes The Guardian newspaper.
A 50 cm eastern brown snake was reported to have slithered out in the second set of the match. Tournament security officers had to be called in to catch the dangerous reptile. They managed to catch the snake and carry it off the court, after which the game was resumed.
Despite the shocking setback, Austrian Dominic Thiem managed to prevail over his opponent with a score of 2:6, 7:6 (7:4), 6:4.
The tournament in Brisbane belongs to the ATP 250 category with a prize fund of more than 661 thousand USD. The final matches will be held on January 7.