A tennis match was interrupted by the appearance of a snake apparently attempting to make its way on to the court.

The Atlantic Tire Championships men's doubles quarter-final between Treat Huey/John-Patrick Smith and Nathan Pasha/Max Schnur – held in Cary, North Carolina – came to a halt three games in when officials became aware of the reptile.

An operation was launched to remove the intruder while commentator Mike Cation provided the play-by-play at the ATP Challenger Tour event.

"This is really a thing that we're dealing with here," Cation told viewers.

"When I went to journalism school, this is what I imagined I would be commentating on: snake wrangling... there are copperheads that do live in the area.

"They've got the snake in a bucket, now what do you do with the snake once it's in the bucket? This is one of those moments where you slide something thin underneath – maybe that box.

"You flatten it out, slide that underneath so the snake is trapped within a bucket."

The offending creature appeared to be caught a short time later, with Cation not missing a beat.

"They have it now and they are sprinting off the court with what could be a very dangerous snake," he said.

"It looks like it's going to be a catch and release situation here tonight. Top-notch commentary, my friends."

Huey and Smith eventually took victory after the incident, triumphing 4-6, 6-2, 10-8.