A ballboy was taken ill on an oppressive first day of the Australian Open.

Tenth seed Carla Suarez Navarro attended to the struggling youngster during her opening match of the tournament.

As the mercury headed above 30 degrees, Suarez Navarro said she had to help the boy to the bench when he couldn’t respond to her.

“He had the ball and I wanted the ball, so I say ‘yes’ and he was like ‘ergh’,” she said, impersonating the drowsy ballkid.

“So I say ‘take a rest’.

“They are (out) there like us but we are drinking, we have ice towels. For them, it’s not easy.”

A Tennis Australia spokesperson said the ballboy had recovered after a rest and was back out on court.

The temperature was forecast to reach 36 on Monday and 37 on Tuesday; the busiest days of the tournament with all 256 singles players in action.

Suarez Navarro was one of day one’s first winners, reaching the second round by defeating Swiss Viktorija Golubic 7-5 6-4.

The Spaniard said conditions were not ideal.

“It was a tough match, it was windy and a little bit hot,” she said.

“In Melbourne, you have days like this.”