Play was suspended on Wimbledon’s hottest opening day as the defending champion Carlos Alcaraz went to assist a spectator who collapsed in the heat.

Temperatures reached 32.3C at the All England Club as at least six British players progressed to the second round.

They included Arthur Fery, the 461-ranked player who beat the 20th seed Alexei Popyrin, and Emma Raducanu, 22, who defeated Mimi Xu, 17, from Swansea, after their match was interrupted by a champagne cork landing on No 1 Court.

The heat peaked at 4.05pm, smashing the previous opening day record of 29.3C set in June 2001.

Four hours and 26 minutes into his match against Fabio Fognini, Alcaraz, 22, spotted that Delyth Lewis, 79, was struggling. Spectators said she was left in direct sun after the court roof was moved to keep the royal box in shade.

The Spanish player rushed to the British umpire James Keothavong to halt the game before picking up his own water bottles and going to her aid.

Two men in tents at Wimbledon.

Spectators hoping to get in on Monday have been camping over the weekend

MIKE EGERTON/PA

Aerial view of numerous tents at Wimbledon queue.

JULIAN FINNEY/GETTY IMAGES

The game was halted for 15 minutes as officials shielded Lewis from the sun with umbrellas. The retired bank worker, from Upper Tumble in west Wales, was eventually taken off the court on a stretcher. Lewis’s niece, Sharon Lewis, said her aunt told her she needed to leave but fainted forwards when she stood up.

“Carlos came over straight away and he gave us water, and he just kept on asking if she was all right; he stayed there,” she said. “He was such a sweetheart.”

Lewis said they were sitting in the sun for hours but were determined to remain “even though it was so hot [as] we honestly thought it would only be three sets”.

Crowd queuing to enter the Wimbledon Tennis Championships.

Sweltering in the queues

ALASTAIR GRANT/AP

She added: “When it got to the fifth set, even I thought, ‘this is really getting really hot’. She was agreeing but we just wanted to stick it out and to see him win.

“We think she overheated. 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.

“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. She’s his number one fan.”

Rich Bichero, 46, from Redhill, Surrey, who was accompanied by his wife, Louise, 45, said the roof was moved before the woman passing out, putting their section of the stands in direct sunlight.

Spectator wearing a strawberry hat at Wimbledon.

The queue is never officially closed but fans not already in line were told entry was unlikely

MIKE EGERTON/PA

“I’m not surprised someone collapsed,” he added. “It’s been scorching. What’s bad is the roof was out and then they moved it back to shade the royal box, which increased the sun on us.

“Had they left it where it was, we would’ve been in the shade for at least another hour.”

Julia Hitchcock, 53, questioned the time it took for first aid staff to arrive.

“I saw Alcaraz hanging around the stands but I didn’t realise what was going on at first,” she said. “It took ages for the medical staff to go over.”

Two men dressed as John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg queue at Wimbledon.

Spectators dressed as the Wimbledon champions John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg

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Another woman collapsed unconscious an hour into the match and was placed in the recovery position by a midwife who was also a spectator.

The All England Club said a number of spectators received treatment for heat-related issues during the day. The club advised fans not to join the queue an hour before the gates opened at 10am as more than 10,000 people were waiting in line.

Sir David Beckham watched the match on the front row of the air-conditioned royal box along with Sarah, Duchess of York, and her daughter Princess Beatrice, Sir Gareth Southgate, the former England football manager, and Ronan Keating, the singer.

Organisers said they made sure there was plenty of ice on court, while the “Beau Geste protocol” was in place for ball boys and girls with hats and cooling scarves to protect their necks.

Sally Bolton, the Wimbledon chief executive, asked spectators to “keep an eye on your friends and others around you, people who look like they’re suffering a little bit from heat stress”.

She added: “We’ve got a really significantly sized medical team here so we’ve got people here to help if that’s needed.”