Dominic Thiem, a previous winner of the US Open, faced two Australian opponents in the initial round of qualifiers for the Brisbane International. The presence of a dangerous snake caused a temporary halt in the match.
The ex-third ranked player was facing off against young Australian James McCabe on Saturday, with the Austrian losing the initial set 2-6. However, the 30-year-old’s eventual comeback was momentarily halted when spectators at the court noticed a snake.
Security personnel were alerted and the game was briefly paused when a snake appeared on Show Court 2. A professional snake handler successfully captured the 50cm eastern brown snake and removed it from the premises, allowing the game to continue.
Thiem prevented his opponent from winning by successfully defending against three match points at 3-5 in the second set. He then went on to win the set in a tiebreak with a score of 7-6 (7-4) before ultimately winning the final set 6-4.
Thiem, who struggled with injuries and confidence problems, saw his ranking drop below 300. However, he has since bounced back and is now ranked No. 98 in the world. In order to advance to the main draw in Brisbane, he must win another qualifying match. He is also scheduled to compete in the Australian Open qualifying tournament after narrowly missing the cut for the main draw.
On Sunday night, the main draw on Pat Rafter Arena will kick off with Australians Alexei Popyrin and Chris O’Connell as the main attractions. This marks the first time since 2019 that the popular tournament will feature both male and female players.
On Saturday, the draw was announced for the upcoming match between Thanasi Kokkinakis and Rinky Hijikata, as well as the match between Jordan Thompson and Aleksandar Vukic. These players are currently ranked 55 and 62, and their matches will take place no earlier than Monday.
Rafael Nadal will play a qualifier in his return from a long-term hip injury – also no sooner than Monday – while Max Purcell, who soared to 45 in the world this year, drew Denmark’s top-seeded world No 8 Holger Rune.
Andy Murray and Grigor Dimitrov will have a rematch of the Brisbane 2013 final, which was won by Murray. The late wildcard Jason Kubler will also face the challenging Russian player Aslan Karatsev.
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The first 16 seeded women have byes in the first round, but notable player Naomi Osaka’s first match after giving birth to her daughter in June will be against German player Tamara Korpatsch, ranked 84th in the world. The match will take place on Monday at the earliest.
Arina Rodionova, Australia’s top-ranked woman at No 114, begins her campaign against top-20 Italian talent Martina Trevisan on Pat Rafter Arena on Sunday, while wildcards Kimberly Birrell and Daria Saville will both face qualifiers in the first round.
Ten more Australians have the opportunity to secure spots in the main draw if they advance through the qualifying rounds over the weekend.
Source: theguardian.com
