Novak Djokovic's wife caught in ugly French Open controversy
Jelena Djokovic has been criticised by fans and commentators after she was spotted not wearing her mask properly during her husband’s semi-final at the French Open.
Jelena has watching from the stands on Friday as Djokovic battled past Stefanos Tsitsipas and into the Roland Garros final.
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But numerous fans were left fuming when Jelena was seen either not wearing a face mask, or not wearing it properly.
One of Djokovic’s coaches was also not wearing a mask at all.
Officials have allowed 1000 fans to enter the main stadiums to watch matches at Roland Garros, provided they wear face masks and maintain adequate social-distancing.
Players can receive a fine if anyone in their entourage is seen without a mask.
So the sight of Djokovic’s wife and a coach not wearing masks left fans spitting chips.
Could someone please teach Novak Djokovic's wife how to wear the mask that's hanging off her face? #RolandGarros
— Heather Sweeney (@WriterSweeney) October 9, 2020
Somebody tell Djokovic's wife that if she doesn't want to save people's lives and observe the same rules that everyone else is observing, then she should leave the stadium. PUT THE DAMN MASK ON AND LEAVE IT ON #FrenchOpen @Martina @Tennis @rolandgarros
— Vonessa Ruffin (@VonessaR) October 9, 2020
Also, very on brand for #Djokovic’s wife to wear a mask and not have it cover her nose. She’s only slightly better than the dude that’s no even bothering with a mask. #RG20 pic.twitter.com/NUuNRqItNK
— •Han• (@Tazzie_D) October 9, 2020
Novak and his wife are just so obnoxious. They spread coronavirus conspiracy theories, then they contracted and spread coronavirus themselves. But I guess the rules don’t apply to them.
— Jan Jericho (@JanJericho1) October 9, 2020
Almost every at Roland Garros is wearing a mask (and properly over the nose and mouth). Why can’t Djokovic’s wife and physiology trainer do the same? They should be fined and evicted from the stadium. #RolandGarros @DjokerNole pic.twitter.com/x81JLwbBth
— Steven Cohn, MD (@preopconsult) October 9, 2020
@christophclarey why isn’t the Djokovic team properly wearing their masks? Wife doesn’t even wear one properly and one of his coaches isn’t even wearing one? There are rules.
— Matt Nestopoulos (@MTNesto) October 9, 2020
Except for 2 covidiots in Djokovic’s camp including the wife 🤦♂️
— Gil Darnell (@gildarnell) October 9, 2020
Jelena and Novak Djokovic both previously caught COVID-19 at the ill-fated Adria Tour event in Serbia and Croatia.
Djokovic was heavily criticised after a number of players and officials caught the virus after he helped organise the tournament at the height of the pandemic back in June.
The event was staged without social-distancing or masks for fans and players.
Djokovic survives to set up Nadal final
Meanwhile, the King of Clay will meet the World No.1 in a dream French Open men’s final.
Djokovic had to defend resolutely to outlast big-hitting Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 6-2 5-7 4-6 6-1 in an enthralling contest on Friday to advance to the final at Roland Garros.
The 12-time French Open champion and No.2 seed Rafael Nadal is bidding to equal Roger Federer’s record men’s haul of 20 grand slam singles titles on Sunday.
“Here, he (Nadal) is the favourite, it's his home here. With all the titles he's won ... but in 2015 I won here against him in the quarter-finals,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview.
“I hope I can recuperate, I need my best tennis. It's maybe the biggest challenge in our sport to play Nadal at Roland Garros. I look forward to it, I'm happy to be here and motivated to win.”
Djokovic, whose 2016 Roland Garros triumph features among his 17 major titles, had a match point in the third set but saw the 22-year-old Tsitsipas fight back spectacularly to level the match at two sets apiece.
Tsitsipas, seeded fifth, ran out of steam in the deciding set but saved another match point before the 33-year-old sealed the win with a crushing service return in three hours and 54 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier.
“We have to congratulate Stefanos for this great battle. In the end he was tired obviously, it was not easy after four hours,” Djokovic said. “He's a very good player and I wish him well for his career.
“I was calm on the surface but inside it was something totally different. I thought that after losing the third set, and the fourth, I was still solid.”
Earlier, Nadal registered a comfortable 6-3 6-3 7-6 (7-0) victory over Diego Schwartzman.
with AAP
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