Deadly snake holds up Dominic Thiem match as he performs Houdini-esque Great Escape at Brisbane International

Dominic Thiem had to battle two potential deadly opponents during his qualifying match at the Brisbane International as he performed a Great Escape not only from James McCabe, but also a deadly snake.

The former US Open champion was facing McCabe and he saved three match points before prevailing 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-4. He could yet face Rafael Nadal in the opening round, with the Spaniard set to face a qualifier as was confirmed last night.

But he was also helped out by the interruption as a snake was spotted courtside by fans while Thiem was under the gun. Security staff were called in and the umpire had to stop play. A snake catcher eventually had to remove it from the venue and it seemed to capture the potential of a McCabe upset as Thiem came back to win from there.

“I really love animals, especially exotic ones,” Thiem said. “But they said it was a really poisonous snake and it was close to the ball kids, so it was a really dangerous situation.

“It’s something that has never happened to me and is something I’ll definitely never forget. He [McCabe] was playing very well. He was serving extremely well I thought ... it was a good win in the end.”