Wimbledon grounds hit by lightning amid ‘challenging’ weather
A lightning strike hit the Wimbledon grounds on Sunday as the head of the tennis championships admitted weather conditions had been "challenging."
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Blustery conditions and rain overnight failed to dampen spirits in the queue for on-the-day tickets, with fans lining up in ponchos and under umbrellas.
Those travelling to Wimbledon also faced transport issues with "severe delays" on the District Line on Monday morning from Edgware Road to Wimbledon because of a signal failure at Putney Bridge.
Transport for London (TfL) said tickets were "being accepted on London buses and South Western Railway" instead.
All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton said the tournament would have a "catch-up" with TfL after the championships to look ahead "in terms of investment into the District Line."
TfL said on Monday that it apologised to "customers affected by the disruption on the District line today."
A spokesperson added: "We acknowledge that today’s disruption comes on the back of a challenging week for District line services last week.
"We are continuing to work closely with organisers of the Wimbledon Championships and Network Rail to ensure that we deliver a reliable service and share up-to-date travel information with customers."
People in the queue remained jovial as they lugged sodden tents and camping chairs before the gates opened at 10am.
Novak Djokovic referred to the "very windy" conditions after his victory over Australian Alex de Minaur on Centre Court on Monday afternoon.
Ms Bolton said no one was injured after lightning hit a car park at the Championships on Sunday.
Speaking to the media on Monday, Ms Bolton said: "I have to say the weather yesterday was really quite challenging.
"We did have a lightning strike in car park six.
"No one was injured, nothing got damaged, but it was just a reminder of the nature of adverse weather and always being prepared for that."
Asked whether TfL was providing adequate service to those attending Wimbledon, Ms Bolton said: "We have an excellent relationship with TfL, we’re working with them all year.
"You won’t be surprised to hear that we have been speaking to them during the championships.
"We have been and remain clear with them that delivering an event of this scale in this part of London requires the infrastructure in this part of London to support us in doing that.
"They’re very aware of that view, and we have arranged to catch-up with them after the championships, to look at not just what happened this year but also to look ahead in terms of investment into the District Line."
There were covers over many of the outer courts on Monday morning including No2 court after rain overnight.
The conditions followed a mixed bag of weather during the previous week – from blue skies and temperatures as high as 34C to overcast and rainy spells.
Warm and sunny weather is forecast in SW19 for much of the rest of the week with temperatures predicted to hit 30C on Friday.