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WATCH: Pesky bat halts play in Madrid

The flying mammal cruised around during Lopez's match vs. Mayer.

ByNina Pantic

Published May 02, 2016

The flying mammal cruised around during Lopez's match against Mayer. (YouTube/TennisTV)

A small bat settled in on the clay of the Caja Mágica on Monday during Feliciano Lopez’s first-round win over Leonardo Mayer. It seems that the nocturnal cruiser thought the bright dirt was a good spot for a nap.

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Mayer moved quick to scoop up the pesky webbed mammal with a towel. That move may have proved to be bad luck, as he lost the match, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4.

Tennis courts are used to seeing wild interruptions of all kinds, from birds and insects to cats and naked humans, but this was a rather absurd moment in what has been a very rough start for the Madrid Open.

The combined Masters 1000 and WTA Premier event has been hit hard by withdrawals, including those from Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Belinda Bencic, Caroline Wozniacki and Marin Cilic. Also, the women’s top two seeds (Agnieszka Radwanska and Angelique Kerber) fell in the first round on Sunday.