‘Every person has a brolly' – Temperatures soar past 34C as Wimbledon comes close to its hottest day ever

Irish Independent

7 hours ago

The temperature reached 34.2C by mid-afternoon, edging closer to the tournament's record high of 35.7C set in 2015.
It followed a scorching Monday that provisionally broke the record for the hottest opening day, with 29.7C logged at Kew Gardens.
Spectators in the famous Wimbledon queue came prepared - many bringing umbrellas, fans, and wine to cope with the conditions.
Some were spotted napping in the early-morning heat, while others used towels and hats to shield themselves from the sun.
Even straw hats sold out at the Wimbledon shop by early afternoon as fans scrambled for shade in the scorching heat
Anjon Saidy-Khan, 32, said: "We saw the news – it looks set to be even hotter today so we needed to be prepared.
"If you saw a picture, you'd think it was pouring it down - every other person has a brolly."
Centre Court hosted world number two Coco Gauff and seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, who both began their campaigns in sweltering sunshine.
Among the guests braving the heat in the Royal Box were Cate Blanchett, Rebel Wilson and Russell Crowe - the latter remaining suited and booted despite the weather.
Sarah Lancashire wore a white summer dress with a blazer over her shoulders, while Molly-Mae Hague arrived in a camel-coloured shirt dress.
On the court, Dan Evans booked his place in the second round with a straight-sets win over fellow Briton Jay Clarke, setting up a potential showdown with Djokovic.
But there were early exits for Heather Watson, Francesca Jones, Jodie Burrage, George Loffhagen and Johannus Monday, who was backed by around a dozen friends from his hometown of Cottingham, Yorkshire.
Tuesday's action followed dramatic scenes on Monday when play was paused after a woman fainted in the stands during Carlos Alcaraz's match.
The defending champion rushed to help, handing her a bottle of water as medics arrived.
World number one Jannik Sinner stayed cool to reach the second round of Wimbledon while several of his fellow seeds including Italian compatriot Lorenzo Musetti and American hope Jessica Pegula crashed and burned on a sizzling Tuesday.
Djokovic will continue his bid for a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title and standalone 25th Grand Slam title when the 38-year-old Serb will play Frenchman Alexandre Muller later when conditions improve after a second day of stifling heat.
A red-hot Sinner effortlessly eased through beating fellow Italian and close friend Luca Nardi 6-4 6-3 6-0 in a victorious return to the Grand Slam stage after his epic French Open final defeat by Carlos Alcaraz last month.
"First round matches are never easy, so I'm very happy about today. Obviously, for Italian tennis, a bit unfortunate," Sinner told reporters.
"I know him quite well as a person. I tried to put away the friendship for a couple of hours. So it's all good."
Sinner's other friend Musetti, last year's semi-finalist, was dumped out by Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili, who prevailed 6-2 4-6 7-5 6-1 on a muggy Court Two.
Wimbledon dark horse Alexander Bublik, seeded 28th, was also unable to avoid the exit door, as the Kazakh showman was dragged into battle by Spaniard Jaume Munar and beaten 6-4 3-6 4-6 7-6(5) 6-2 to continue the exodus of seeded men's players.
Taylor Fritz let out a massive roar but it might as well have been a sigh of relief after the fifth-seeded American moved past big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-7(6) 6-7(8) 6-4 7-6(6) 6-4 in a match carried forward from Monday.
His American compatriot Tommy Paul took out Briton Monday with little fuss, the 13th seed cruising 6-4 6-4 6-2, but it was the end of the road for 30th seed Alex Michelsen who fell 6-2 3-6 6-3 3-6 7-6(6) to Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic.
World number three Alexander Zverev was dumped on the seeds scrapheap after losing a two-day, five-set marathon to Arthur Rinderknech.
The German, a three-time grand slam finalist, was beaten 7-6 (3) 6-7 (8) 6-3 6-7 (5) 6-4 by Frenchman Rinderknech in a match carried over from Monday evening.
In fact, it was so long - at four hours and 40 minutes – that it actually started in June and finished in July.
Zverev is the fourth top-10 player to crash out in the first round at this year's Championships - and the highest-ranked - joining Musetti, Holger Rune, and Daniil Medvedev through the exit door.
On the women's side, defending champion Barbora Krejcikova was tested by promising 20-year-old Filipina Alexandra Eala, but she found best form to win 3-6 6-2 6-1 on her return to Centre Court after last year's surprise triumph.
"I mean, what the hell [kind of tennis] she played in the first set?" said Krejcikova, praising her opponent.
"She was smashing the ball and cleaning the lines, so wow, wow. She's going to be really good in a couple of years."
While Eala missed her chance to make history, Zeynep Sonmez became the first Turkish woman to reach the second round at the grasscourt Grand Slam when she battled past Romania's Jaqueline Cristian 7-6(5) 6-3.
Third seed Pegula was unable to put up a fight as she fell 6-2 6-3 in 58 minutes to Elisabetta Cocciaretto before Olympic champion and fifth seed Qinwen Zheng was beaten 7-5 4-6 6-1 by Czech Katerina Siniakova.
Five-times Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek faced a tight opening set against Polina Kudermetova but the eighth seed won 7-5 6-1 while Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva advanced after a 6-3 6-3 victory over Mayar Sherif.
Victoria Mboko found out a few hours before she faced Magdalena Frech that she had entered the main draw as a lucky loser due to Anastasia Potapova's pullout and the Canadian teenager rode her luck to stun the 25th seed 6-3 6-2.