THE HEAT IS ON

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Carlos Alcaraz survived a major scare in his Wimbledon opener on Monday while Aryna Sabalenka kept her cool to progress on the hottest opening day in the tournament’s history.

Temperatures at the All England Club on Monday topped 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 Fahrenheit), surpassing the previous record for the start of the tournament of 29.3 degrees Celsius set in 2001.

Alcaraz dug deep for a 7-5, 6-7 (5/7), 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 win over 38-year-old Fabio Fognini in a grueling clash lasting four hours and 37 minutes on Centre Court.

It was the first time since Roger Federer narrowly beat Alejandro Falla in 2010 that a defending champion had been taken to a fifth set in the Wimbledon first round.

Alcaraz shrugged off an inconsistent display, including 62 unforced errors, as the world No. 2 refused to wilt in the heat.

“I don’t know why it is probably Fabio’s last Wimbledon because the level he has shown shows he can still play for three or four more years,” the Spaniard said.

“Playing on Centre Court for the first match of any tournament is never easy. Wimbledon is special and different. I just tried to play my best, but I would say that I could play better.”

During the match, the 22-year-old rushed to help a spectator who had collapsed in the stands, handing over a bottle of water as medics came to the woman’s aid.

Alcaraz, who has never lost in a Grand Slam first round in 18 appearances, faces British qualifier Oliver Tarvet in the second round.

The five-time Grand Slam champion is bidding to become the fifth man in the Open Era to win at least three consecutive Wimbledon titles after Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and seven-time champion Novak Djokovic.

With players and fans searching for shade from the London heatwave, former England captain David Beckham watched the action from the royal box, alongside ex-England manager Gareth Southgate.

Top women’s seed Sabalenka used ice packs to beat the heat during her 6-1, 7-5 victory over Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine on Court One.

The 27-year-old Belarusian is a three-time Grand Slam champion but suffered agonising three-set defeats in this year’s Australian Open and French Open finals.

The world No. 1 has never been beyond the Wimbledon semi-finals and missed last year’s tournament with a shoulder injury.

“I felt really great. Super grateful to be healthy and ready to compete and to be through the first round,” said Sabalenka, who next faces Czech world No. 48 Marie Bouzkova.

Two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur broke down in tears before retiring from her first-round match against Viktoriya Tomova for an unspecified reason.

Tunisia’s Jabeur was trailing 7-6 (7/5), 2-0 when she brought a premature end to her clash with the Bulgarian world No. 111.

Former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev, a Wimbledon semi-finalist for the past two years, suffered a meltdown against France’s Benjamin Bonzi.