Michael Llodra was one game down in the first set at Wimbledon yesterday when he raced across Centre Court to try to return his opponent’s drop shot. Although he made it, a split second later he careered into the umpire’s chair and collided with one of the ball girls crouched beside the net.

At first, it seemed that neither was injured. Erin Lorencin, 15, looked slightly shocked but was helped up, and - to the crowd’s appreciation - then hugged, by the 6ft 3in Frenchman before he limped back up court to resume the game.

Soon after, however, Llodra — ranked 137th in the world — was forced to concede the match and hobbled off court for treatment after only 20 minutes of the set had been played.

Feeling disappointed, perhaps, that his game had come to such an early end, his opponent, Tommy Haas, the German 24th seed, decided to play on with another of the ball girls on court.

Chloe Chambers, also 15, made such an impression that someone in the crowd shouted: “Come on, Tommy!”

For Miss Chambers, a keen tennis player and Year 10 student at neighbouring Ursuline School, it was her first time in the limelight. The pair knocked up for five minutes in the 11,393 capacity stadium.

The accident that brought about her impromptu appearance on Centre Court had been captured in full by the camera underneath the umpire’s chair. Miss Lorencin barely had time to flinch before the 29-year-old Frenchman — who knocked Britain’s Josh Goodall out in the first round — landed in a pile on top of her.

He seemed to bang his leg and hip on the metal of the umpire’s chair.

Although Llodra needed medical attention after the accident, the ball girls were all back on court later, although Miss Chambers was in her more usual position on the edge of the court.