Carlos Alcaraz needed grit, ice towels and five sweat-soaked sets to survive Fabio Fognini and the hottest opening day in Wimbledon history on Monday.
The defending champion, chasing a third straight Grand Slam title, was far from his fluent best but clawed past the fiery Italian veteran 7-5, 6-7(5), 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 in a four-hour marathon on Centre Court, where temperatures hit 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
Play was halted briefly when a spectator required medical assistance due to heat exhaustion.
It wasn’t just the weather turning up the heat.
Alcaraz, who arrived riding an 18-match win streak and fresh off his French Open triumph, found himself in real danger of becoming only the third defending men’s champion to crash out in the first round.
Fognini, playing his final Wimbledon, summoned vintage brilliance to level at two sets apiece before the Spaniard found another gear in the decider.
“I don’t know why it’s his last Wimbledon – he could play three or four more years,” Alcaraz said, applauding Fognini and even offering water to the stricken fan during the delay.
Up next for the world No. 3 is British qualifier Oliver Tarvet, who marked his Grand Slam debut with a commanding 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win over Swiss qualifier Leandro Riedi.
Elsewhere, British players lit up the All England Club with a record seven opening-day wins in the professional era. Katie Boulter shocked Spanish ninth seed Paula Badosa in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 thriller on Centre Court. Emma Raducanu breezed past fellow Brit Mingge Xu, while Sonay Kartal stunned 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko.
But there was heartbreak for Jacob Fearnley, who fell to Brazil’s teenage sensation Joao Fonseca, 6-4, 6-1, 7-6(5), as Court One turned into a sauna.
In the women’s draw, top seed Aryna Sabalenka shrugged off rising temperatures and early rust to dispatch Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine 6-1, 7-5. The Belarusian, seeking her first Wimbledon crown, is looking to rebound from heartbreak in both the Australian and French Open finals.
American Amanda Anisimova dished out a brutal 6-0, 6-0 “double bagel” to Yulia Putintseva, while 2023 champ Marketa Vondrousova eased past McCartney Kessler to set up a second-round date with Raducanu.
Madison Keys took two hours and 41 minutes to outlast Romania’s Elena Ruse, calling the heat “typical summer” by U.S. standards.
Naomi Osaka steadied her nerves to defeat Aussie qualifier Talia Gibson in straight sets, but there was despair for Tunisia’s two-time finalist Ons Jabeur, who retired ill against Viktoriya Tomova.
The heat also cooked a few title hopefuls in the men’s field. Daniil Medvedev, clearly unsettled on Court Two’s heat-trapping bowl, was dumped out by France’s Benjamin Bonzi in four sets.
Holger Rune collapsed after leading by two sets, losing in five to Nicolas Jarry, while Stefanos Tsitsipas retired down two sets with a back injury.
Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz both pushed their matches to deciding sets before darkness and Wimbledon’s 11 p.m. curfew forced postponements.
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