Wimbledon diary: SW19 hotter than Barbados while Sir David Beckham pays a visit

Britain does not often rival the Caribbean for mercury readings, but Wimbledon was a more tropical option than Barbados on Monday as temperatures reached highs of 32.3C during the opening day of the championships.

It was the hottest opening day on record amid the country’s heatwave, with players cooling off with freezing cold towels worn as scarves and the ball boys and girls rotated to give them ample opportunity to get out of the sun.

Wimbledon has over 100 points to refill water bottles, and there is likely to have been plenty of demand for their range of branded hats, towels, fans and even umbrellas as spectators utilised them as makeshift parasols.

The newly knighted Sir David Beckham was seen conversing in the Royal Box with Sir Gareth Southgate.

Actors Eddie Redmayne and Jason Isaacs were also in attendance, the latter of whom was recently on screens when part of the third series of the hit show The White Lotus.

Former England cricketer Stuart Broad was accompanied by his wife, Saturdays member Mollie King, with the Royal family represented by Sarah Ferguson and Princess Beatrice.

Quote of the day

British wild card Oliver Tarvet is not counting himself out of his upcoming clash with Carlos Alcaraz after earning his place in the second round with a straight-sets victory over Leandro Riedi.

Picture of the day

Tweet of the day

Tuesday’s match of the day

Double women’s singles champion Petra Kvitova will get her final Wimbledon under way as she faces American Emma Navarro.The Court One clash will mark the beginning of the Czech player’s last summer as a professional tennis player as retirement beckons following the US Open.

Kvitova was victorious in 2011 and 2014, but has her work cut out against the 10th seed who reached the quarter-final last year.

Weather

Sunny changing to partly cloudy by night time with a maximum temperature of 33 degrees Celsius, according to the Met Office.