Tennis fans saluted a group of British military heroes today as they joined a host of sporting greats in the royal box at Wimbledon.

Injured servicemen and women who competed in last year's inaugural Invictus Games received a spontaneous standing ovation after they were introduced to the Centre Court crowd.

Artist Paul Cummins and theatre designer Tom Piper, the men behind the breathtaking Tower of London poppies art installation, were also greeted by loud cheers from spectators.

The star-studded royal box on the sixth day of the championships included England cricketer James Anderson, former footballer Gary Lineker, golfer Justin Rose, Paralympic star David Weir and Olympic gold medal-winning boxer Nicola Adams.

Anderson - England's record wicket taker - brought with him Radio 1 DJ Greg James, while Andy Murray's mother Judy was joined by her former Strictly Come Dancing partner Anton De Beke.

She had earlier tweeted she was taking Du Beke for "a spot of Royal Boxing", adding: "He's hyper. But he's promised to be cha cha charming."

Prince Harry launched the Invictus Games last year for injured members of the armed forces.

Competitors in the royal box included Royal Marine reservist John Chalmers who underwent almost 30 operations after treading on an explosive while serving in Helmand, Afghanistan, in May 2011.

He was joined by fellow medal-winners Andy Grant - a Royal Marine who lost part of his leg after stepping on a bomb in Afghanistan in 2009 - Gus Hurst, Stuart Robinson, Kimberley Sterling, Sam Stocks and Michaela Richards.

England rugby union captain Chris Robshaw and coach Stuart Lancaster were in the royal box alongside former players Bill Beaumont and Matt Dawson.

Ex-England cricketers Geoffrey Boycott and Andrew Strauss, golfer Luke Donald, runner Jo Pavey, former Olympic swimmer Mark Foster and retired footballer Graeme Le Saux were also among the guests.

Former Ireland rugby union captain Brian O'Driscoll and past Wimbledon tennis champions Boris Becker and Martina Navratilova were among the stars from overseas.

Murray, who is hoping to add to his 2013 Wimbledon title, will face Italy's Andreas Seppi in the third round on Centre Court today.

Fans at the front of the Wimbledon queue had been waiting since Thursday morning hoping to secure a seat for Murray's match.

He and world number 111 James Ward - who faces Canadian Vasek Pospisil today - are the only Britons remaining after Heather Watson was knocked out yesterday.

It is the first time since 2002 that Britain has two men in the third round of the tournament.

British number one Watson came within two points of eliminating 20-time grand slam winner Serena Williams with the backing of a passionate local crowd.

But she was left heartbroken when the American fought back to set up a Williams family tie with her older sister Venus in the next round.

Dreadlocked German Dustin Brown, who knocked out Rafael Nadal, could not repeat his success as he crashed out in the third round.

The world number 102, who has a large tattoo of his father Leroy on his body, lost to 22nd seed Viktor Troicki of Serbia.

The main road to the All England Club was closed today because of damage caused by a storm overnight.

After a week of scorching weather, tennis fans enjoyed glorious sunshine again, with temperatures expected to reach 25C.

Meanwhile, Roger Federer's third round opponent Sam Groth struck the second fastest ever serve recorded at Wimbledon with a 147mph shot - just behind Taylor Dent's record of 148mph.