It is well know that only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun, however scorching conditions have done little to dissuade Wimbledon fans from all over the world from queuing.
SW Londoner spoke with some of the sun-worshippers who were drawn to tennis’ most famous tournament about how they were holding up under the sun.
Marian Mustapha, of Mitcham, had come with her sister Tokunbo, and was well stocked with water and a portable fan to protect her from the heat and was determined to get in.
She said: “The weather is so hot and it’s going to get hotter, but we are going to stay in the queue because we have to get in.
“It’s our first time at Wimbledon so we can’t leave without getting in!”
This enthusiasm was not matched by Ryoko, whose mother Kikuyo had travelled from Japan to see the tournament.
Despite her mother’s long journey, the heat proved overwhelming so they decided to flee, Ryoko said: “We’re giving up now, it’s too hot and the queue is too long.”
Chris and Amber Harrison had barely been waiting an hour but were already considering heading off for cooler climbs.
SCORCHIO! Chris and Amber shelter from the sweltering sun
Chris was amazed by the number of people who braved the heat to get in, he said: “We thought there might be fewer people here because of the weather being so hot, but that’s not the case at all!”
Gord Inglis, from Canada, came to London to celebrate his daughters graduation by taking in a bit of tennis with his home made umbrella.
WILD SIDE: Gord displays his patriotism
Although he was not overly optimistic about getting in this morning, he said he was pleased to have seen Marcos Baghdatis play on Monday and even gave up his seat so the player’s mother could watch her son in action.
Flora and Charis Hackett, 21, and Jocelyn Kirby had managed to forge quite some way into the queue, having travelled from Jocelyn’s house in Balham.
Charis said: “We got here at about 5:30 in the morning, we had to wake up at 3am to make it.”
They were 2,500th in a queue of 8,000 so they were quite optimistic about their chances of getting in!
