Wimbledon tennis 2019: Kiwi Artem Sitak and partner doused by sprinkler during Wimbledon match

Kiwi Artem Sitak and his mixed doubles partner Laura Siegemund were given a good spraying from a malfunctioning sprinkler during their Wimbledon first-round match.

Sitak and his German partner were resting with the match against Ken Skupski and Darija Jurak tied up at a set a piece, when the sprinkler behind the umpire's chair burst into action.

The pair was forced to scramble for their gear and duck out of the way from getting wet.

The match was forced to be moved to another court, where Sitak and Siegemund prevailed in the third set to take the match 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Skupski later told the Press Association Sport that he heard the sound of the sprinkler before it started dousing Sitak and Siegemund.

"The sprinkler head behind the umpire's chair just popped up. You hear it, it's an unusual sound, and then 100 gallons of water just started nailing them.

"Fortunately the water was spraying on the other side. I've seen clips on YouTube of it happening at tournaments but not at Wimbledon, so that was unexpected.

"And to move courts and start straight away in a bit of a different environment, that was a bit unusual, but at least we might make it onto the TV tonight."