Tennis match suspended after one of world's most deadly snakes slithered onto court - The Mirror

Former US Open champion Dominic Thiem was facing off against Australian youngster James McCabe at the Brisbane International tennis tournament when an Eastern Brown Snake entered the court

One of the world's most deadly snakes, whose venom kills within 30 minutes, slithered onto the court at the Brisbane International tennis tournament on Saturday.

Former US Open champion Dominic Thiem was a set down to 20-year-old Australian James McCabe in a first round qualifying match when fans courtside spotted the deadly snake. Security personnel quickly arrived, but the umpire had to stop play as the snake made its way on to the court.

It was later identified as a 50cm Eastern Brown Snake - one of Australia's most deadly reptiles - and was soon safely removed allowing play to resume. The venom of an Eastern Brown Snake contains a deadly cocktail of poisons, making it the second most dangerous snake in the world.

The most powerful is a neurotoxin, which paralyses the nerves of the heart, lungs and diaphragm, suffocating the victim. If untreated, victims can die within 30 minutes from cardiac arrest. After the match, Thiem said: "I really love animals, especially exotic ones.

"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."

The snake was caught by local expert Lucas Perrett who told 9News Queensland, Perrett: "My wife is a massive tennis fan, we actually have tickets for next Saturday and Sunday. And when I texted her going 'I'm going to pick up a snake from the Brisbane International' she went ‘no way, get me an autograph'."

One social media user joked when commenting on the bizarre incident: "There have been some pretty unsavoury characters on court in men's tennis down the years, but this guy is a real snake." Another jokingly added: "The snake has displaced Nick Kyrgios as Australia's next great tennis hope."

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Austrian Thiem, who turned 30 earlier this year and is currently ranked No.98 in the world after several years spent dealing with a persistent wrist injury, is now set to face Italian Giulio Zeppieri in the final qualifying round on Sunday.

Thiem made it all the way to the final of the Australian Open in 2020, managing to push champion Novak Djokovic to five sets. A year later, Thiem won the US Open to mark his first Grand Slam triumph by defeating German opponent Alexander Zverev.

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