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 then announced that play would be suspended, with defending champion Alcaraz even bringing the stricken spectator a cold bottle of water from the bucket behind his seat.
Other crowd members also attempted to help the lady – who was sat in the sun on Wimbledon’s hottest-ever opening day as temperatures reached 31.4 degrees Celsius by 2pm – by fanning her and shading her with umbrellas.
After a 17-minute pause in play, the spectator was eventually carried away from Centre Court, but was thankfully sat up and responsive.
When the match resumed, Alcaraz immediately broke Fognini for a second time in the set to go 4-0 up. He then went on to take the decider to complete a 7-5, 6-7, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 win.
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!
‘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.
‘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.’
