PARIS — An eagle-eyed chair umpire came to the rescue of a pigeon that dropped to the court during a third-round tennis match at the French Open on Saturday.

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The pigeon fell to the red clay at Roland Garros’ Court Suzanne Lenglen during a fourth-set changeover in the men’s singles match between Daniil Medvedev and Tomas Machac, Reuters reported. The bird appeared unable to fly away and was flapping its wings when chair umpire Damien Dumusois swooped in to help, according to The Associated Press.

Dumusois climbed down from his perch on the umpire’s chair and grabbed a white towel, the news organization reported. He approached the pigeon, which appeared to be injured, and chased it.

The umpire finally was able to bend over and grab the pigeon with both hands, which drew cheers from the crowd, the AP reported.

“I hope the bird was OK. It was not looking good. I think maybe something (was wrong) with the wing,” Medvedev told reporters after the match. “The referee did a good job. He was very gentle. I think (that’s) important. I hope the bird is fine. Maybe they’ll take it to the vet clinic or something. I don’t know; we need to ask what happened after.”

While Medvedev was glad the bird was OK, he was also grateful to get a respite after winning an 18-point game, according to the AP.

“I was like, ‘Oh my God, if it gives me an extra minute to breathe, it would be perfect,’ and it did,” Medvedev told reporters. “For me, it was a good moment.”

Medvedev, the tournament’s fifth seed in the men’s draw, was leading 4-3 at the time of the stoppage, the AP reported. He closed out the match moments later, securing a 7-6 (4), 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 victory.

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