Carlos Alcaraz’s epic first-round tussle with Fabio Fognini had to be paused in the fifth set after a member of the crowd fainted.
The Spaniard was leading 3-0 in the decider when, after a change of ends, he alerted the umpire to an incident in the stands.
Alcaraz had spotted that an elderly fan had fallen to the floor and was being treated by Centre Court medics.
The umpire declared a halt in the game, and defending champion Alcaraz kindly offered a distressed spectator a cold bottle of water from the container near his chair.
Other attendees also tried to assist the woman, who had been seated in the sunlight during Wimbledon’s warmest opening day ever, with temperatures hitting 31.4 degrees Celsius by 2pm, by using fans and umbrellas to offer some relief.
After a 17-minute pause in play, the spectator was eventually carried away from Centre Court, but was thankfully sat up and responsive.
Carlos Alcaraz raced to the aid of a woman in the Centre Court stands after she suffered a medical emergency
The spectator is thought to have collapsed amid the soaring temperatures at Wimbledon
Alcaraz spent time helping the fan and keeping an eye on her as stewards tended to her
Upon resuming the match, Alcaraz immediately broke Fognini’s serve for the second time in the set, taking a 4-0 lead. He eventually clinched the final set, concluding the contest with a 7-5, 6-7, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 victory.
Stewards also sheltered the woman while she was immediately looked after on Centre Court, before leaving the show court on a stretcher for further attention minutes later.
‘He was really concerned about, and he stayed there talking to her and her family the whole time,’ one spectator said.
The woman is 79-year-old widow Delyth Lewis from West Wales who was there especially to see Alcaraz.
Her niece Sharon said: ‘We think she over heated, we were drinking plenty of water, we were just about to hop out because she said she needed a break from the sun but she was desperate to see him win.
‘Suddenly she just leaned over and passed out.
‘He came over straight away, he stayed and he kept talking to her. He was such a sweetheart.
‘She’s a huge fan. The first thing she asked when she came around was that did he win? And she was delighted that he did win but she was sorry she didn’t get to see it!
Mail Sport learned that the woman in question was 79-year-old Delyth Lewis from West Wales
The widow is an enormous Alcaraz fan and had come to SW19 with the hope of watching her favourite player
Alcaraz later gave a thumb’s up when he heard that the spectator was stable and the match could continue
His opponent Fabio Fognini took shelter from the sun in the shadow of the umpire’s chair
Fans have had to get creative with ways to beat the heat on the first day of the Championships
Earlier on, Ons Jabeur struggled physically and was forced to retire from her match in tears
‘She was delighted when she realised he came to help her but she was a bit embarrassed about passing out. She was very pleased
‘She’s a number one fan of his. She enters the ballot every year.’
The punishing temperatures at the Grand Slam have caused some concern, with Ons Jabeur the first to receive a medical timeout on the opening day of the Championships.
On-court medics checked the former Wimbledon finalist’s vitals and blood pressure, with Elena-Gabriela Ruse also struggling in her match-up against Madison Keys.
Jabeur later retired in tears on the hottest opening day in the tournament’s history.
Daniil Medvedev – who was knocked out by unfancied, unseeded Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi – opted not to solely blame the heat for his failure to progress to the second round at Wimbledon for the first time in his career, but admitted that his four-set match had been a struggle.
Daniil Medvedev pointed out that both he and his opponent Benjamin Bonzi were affected by the temperatures
‘Physically, it was not easy,’ Medvedev said after his match. ‘End of third set was still there. Fourth set was not easy. To make a winner against him today, I had to make like three great shots in the corner.
‘I know this feeling. When you’re on fire, everything goes in. Fourth set was the toughest set for sure.
‘And heat? I mean, I will never say he won because of the heat. But the heat is not easy to play. I do think if you ask him, probably he was not enjoying the heat either.’
