“She’s a huge fan. The first thing she asked when she came around was ‘did he win?’. And she was delighted that he did win, but she was sorry she didn’t get to see it!”
The reigning Wimbledon champion noticed the struggling crowd member during his opening match on Monday, who was one of thousands of tennis fans to brave the hottest ever start to the championships.
Alcaraz said: “I think here in London they are not used to this weather. Sitting for five hours in the stands without moving can be really difficult to deal with for the spectators”.
Organisers said a number of guests were treated for minor issues, including those related to hot weather, and had to order extra sun cream because of popular demand.
Ice was provided to all players on courts and more than 100 water points were set up across SW19.
The Met Office confirmed temperatures had topped 32C as staff at the championships were put on “high alert” to help struggling spectators.
By 9am, organisers had warned fans not to travel to join the queue for non-ticket holders as capacity had already been reached.
One security worker told The Telegraph that 4500 people were queuing by 5.30am, with some having camped overnight. However, this figure had reportedly risen to 9000 by 8am.
Sally Bolton, the chief executive of hosts the All England Lawn Tennis Club, admitted that organisers were “not used to these kind of temperatures” but were “absolutely ready for it”.
Bolton stressed that the “heat rule” would be engaged, which allows players 10-minute breaks, if the temperature rose beyond 30.1C.
The tournament’s organisers use a measure known as the Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature, which takes into account temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle and cloud cover to decide when the rule will apply.
Ball girls and boys wore cooling scarves and observed the Beau Geste protocol, which meant that the 250 youngsters wore French Foreign Legion-style white caps with neck coverings.
Jim Monfort, 71, left the five-set match unfolding between Holger Rune and Nicolas Jarry on Court No 3 early as he was in a seat unprotected from the sun. The retired United States Navy sailor said: “It’s just too hot”.
Staff told the Telegraph they had been put on “high alert” and told to remain vigilant when in the grounds, even after their shift had finished.
Nigel and Vicki Broad, who arrived from Swansea on Friday afternoon (local time), secured the coveted number one spot in this year’s queue.
Vicki Broad, 57, who was wearing a straw hat with strawberries attached, said: “A lot of our friends have said ‘why do you do it?’, but I’ve really enjoyed it”.
Mette Kjoller, 25, left her home in Hackney Wick, east London, at 3.30am on Monday and had joined the queue by 5am. Speaking after making it into the grounds, she said she had to go out and buy an umbrella to shade herself from the sun.
“It was even warmer than we thought it was going to be,” the student said. “It was hot. We had a hard time, but we’re ok.”
Queuing on Monday morning (local time), Juan Echeverria and his wife Carolina Camelo, both 41, camped from the night before to secure tickets to this year’s championships but said their tent had turned into an “oven”.
