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'You just have to explain what's happening'

Tennis commentator Mike Cation has revealed what went through his mind when the match he was calling was interrupted by the sounds of a couple having sex.

A match between Frances Tiafoe and Mitchell Krueger was interrupted multiple times at the ATP Challenger tour's Sarasota Open when loud noises could be heard from a nearby building.

The players and officials - not to mention the crowd - erupted into a mixture of disbelief and laughter, with Cation informing viewers of the reason behind the delay.

"I don't know how to put this, folks," he said.

Tiafoe reacts to the love-making noises. Pic: ATP

The noise lasted multiple points, causing Tiafoe to voice his concerns to the couple in the house: "It can't be that good!"

Now Cation has explained in an interview with Deadspin that he was only thinking about doing his job as best he could, and that included providing details.

"I was trying to take my time and work through it... I take a lot of pride in making sure we tell the stories of our USTA events and players in a way that respects their hard work," he told Deadspin.

"So you don't want to disrupt that at all. But then, when the players are paused, the crowd can't contain themselves, you just have to explain what's happening. It's the basic part of a play-by-play job. Describe what’s happening. So, I tried."

Cation explained that noise delays are usually quite common: "We're close to construction sites, you can be close to airports, car alarms 10 feet away, babies."

But he had never heard of a time where love-making had interrupted a tennis match.

A mother instructs her son to cover his ears. Pic: ATP

Cation noted during the broadcast that the house was across a lake, and a producer was in his ear telling him it was actually possible to see into the house.

While they did not go and knock on the door, a snappy Sarasota Open official didn't miss an opportunity to have some fun on the next night of competition: