Dominic Thiem had a 40-minute delay to his Brisbane International match after the second most dangerous snake in the world broke onto the court for his qualifying match.
The former world No 3 was facing off against Australia's James McCabe in the first round of qualifying at the Brisbane International.
Thiem had lost the first set but was on the comeback trail in the second before play was interrupted by a local intruder.
A fan sitting courtside spotted a long snake had begun making its way onto the court with play immediately suspended.
Dominic Thiem's match had to be suspended
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Where the snake was attempting to get onto the court was close to where some of the ball kids were standing.
Security personnel quickly arrived at the scene but it took around 40 minutes for the snake handler to eventually capture the reptile.
It was later confirmed that the snake was a 50cm eastern brown snake - one of the most deadly snakes in the world.
The reptile is one of the most common snakes on the east coast of Australia and is responsible for the most snakebite fatalities every year.
Reports have stated that the killer snake is responsible for two deaths a year in Australia.
Fortunately, the snake was removed safely from the court in Brisbane without any trouble.
But Thiem was not out of danger himself as he had to save three match points before levelling the match in the second-set tiebreak.
He was then able to rally and complete the comeback victory to progress into the final qualifying round.
The snake is one of the most venomous in the world
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Thiem was asked about the snake incident after his win where he was able to joke about the intruder.
"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.
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The snake took 40 minutes to be removed
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"It's something that has never happened to me and is something I'll definitely never forget."
Thiem has been trying to climb back up the rankings for the past few years now after battling with a troublesome wrist injury.
He ended up dropping outside of the top 300 but showed signs of a comeback this year by making his first ATP Final since 2020 at the Austrian Open.
Thiem is now back in the top 100 and looking to make his mark at the Australian Open next year.
