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Novak Djokovic's wife caught in ugly French Open controversy

Jelena Djokovic, pictured here watching on during the French Open semi-finals.
Jelena Djokovic was seen without a mask during the French Open semi-finals. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

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.

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.

Jelena Djokovic, pictured here not wearing her mask properly.
Jelena Djokovic was also seen wearing the mask, but not properly. Image: Getty

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.”

Novak Djokovic, pictured here after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the French Open semi-finals.
Novak Djokovic salutes his team after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the French Open semi-finals. (Photo by Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

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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