Carlos Alcaraz vs Taylor Fritz Wimbledon semi-final suspended TWICE as fans fall ill

The umpire was forced to halt Carlos Alcaraz's semi-final against Taylor Fritz at Wimbledon after two fans felt ill. An amber weather warning was issued by the Met Office for high temperatures on Friday and it was over 30 degrees on Centre Court.

Alcaraz was serving at 4-3 in the second set, having taken the first, when the first pause came.

A spectator in the sunshine-drenched side of the stadium was being helped by stewards and those around them after falling ill. A ball boy brought over a bottle of water from Fritz and umbrellas were quickly put up before they were helped off the court.

The match continued, but three points later the chair umpire suspended play once more. An elderly lady had to be helped out of her chair and to the exit after feeling ill.

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Former Wimbledon champion Andre Agassi said on BBC One: "As players we train for this [heat]. They [spectators] are sitting in the baking sun and as players we worry about them. Let's hope they are OK."

Neither delay lasted very long and Alcaraz was able to keep his composure, holding off some break points for Fritz to stay on serve in the second set, having won the first 6-4. However, the Spaniard went on to lose the second set 7-5.

Wimbledon has been played in extreme temperatures this year, with the tournament beginning amid weather warnings. The Grand Slam has put in place measures to try and mitigate the heat, but there have inevitably been difficulties.

A fan was taken unwell in Iga Swiatek's semi-final victory on Thursday, while there was a similar incident earlier in the tournament when Alcaraz offered his water to a woman in the stands who was struggling with the heat.

"I wish this person the best. I don't know exactly what happened," Swiatek said on Thursday after reaching the final. Asked about the possibility of closing the roof to keep the sun out, she said: "Well, I think it's not possible for the tournament 'cause I think the tournament is supposed to be, like, outdoors tournament.

"From what I saw and heard on different tournaments, they're usually not willing to close the roof when it's not raining, when it's not a necessity. I'm not sure why. Maybe there are some rules or something.

"I don't know. On some courts when you close the roof, there is no air-conditioning anyway. So here, I think they need air-conditioning to make the grass less humid.

"If it would help, yeah, I think so. But it's not my job kind of to predict how it's going to affect the people. Like, hopefully there are not going to be many more incidents like that, but I don't know how to prevent that."