In the 2:6,7:6(4),6:4 against the Australian James McCabe on Saturday, the 30-year-old from Lower Austria fended off three match points from his ten-year-younger opponent before he could even celebrate. The game lasted almost three hours, as a 40-minute break had to be taken due to a poisonous snake being spotted on the court. This had to be captured.
In the duel for a starting place in the main competition, Thiem, who was seeded number five in the qualification, will now face the 22-year-old Italian Giulio Zeppieri, who is 37 places behind him in 135th place in the ATP rankings.
Thiem was on the verge of defeat at 2:6,3:5. McCabe (ATP No. 272) was already leading 40-0 before Thiem managed to equalize and finally break. The Austrian remained confident in the tie-break and won the third set with a break to make it 6:4.
“A really dangerous situation”
The two players had to take an unusual break at the end of the first set. Spectators spotted a queue at the edge of the court and the match was stopped. The 50 centimeter long reptile had to be captured. According to media reports, it was an eastern brown snake, a viper with deadly venom.
“I love animals, especially exotic ones. But they said it was a really poisonous snake and it was near the ball children. So it was a really dangerous situation,” said Thiem after the game. “This is something that has never happened to me before and that I definitely won’t forget.”
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