Phew, what a scorcher as Wimbledon endures heatwave
"The conditions? They were perfect," said Olivia Gadecki following her opening day defeat to Solana Sierra. "Here you have to expect everything, it's nice when you get days like this."
However, Gadecki lives on the Gold Coast and what she regards as 'perfect conditions' the Brits call a heatwave. As the mercury rose above 30C amber warnings (the second highest level) were issued for heat by the UK Met Office.
The air temperature at Wimbledon peaked at 32.3C, making it the hottest opening day in Wimbledon history, though not the hottest ever - that was in 2015 when 35.7C was reached.
To mitigate against this ball boys and girls were given protective neckwear, spectators used their umbrellas as parasols, and every inch of shade was occupied.
The players were given ice packs, cold towels and plenty of water but the tournament's extreme heat rule, which allows a 10-minute break, was not triggered as the various factors that determine heat stress were not breached.
It was certainly not as baking as the hottest days at the Australian Open in Melbourne or the US Open in New York and Chile's Nicolas Jarry observed it is a lot harder playing in the steamy heat of Buenos Aires or Rio de Janeiro.
There was, however, a delay in the fifth set of Carlos Alcaraz's match with Fabio Fognini after a spectator collapsed. Alcaraz offered his water bottle in assistance.
Most fans seemed determined to make the most of their day regardless of the heat. This, after all, is a nation whose homes tend not to have air-conditioning, so for many being in the open air was better than sweltering at home.
Though they still had to get to the grounds, and most UK public transport is not air-conditioned either.
The heatwave is expected to break on Wednesday when the BBC forecasts 'light rain and a gentle breeze' amid temperatures rising to 23C. A typical English summer's day then.
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