Novak Djokovic is through to the Quarter-Finals of the 2024 French Open albeit his wife who was also present for his late win over Lorenzo Musetti has bared the brunt of it with his marathon victories. She got into an animated argument with her husband as he took down Francisco Cerundolo on Monday.
The argument happened during the third game of the deciding fifth set with the game set level at 30-30. Djokovic was visibly frustrated with something and used words and hand gestures to communicate with Jelena. She got up from her seat and responded in an animated fashion. As the video poster quipped, 'they still have a time for wife and husband stuff'.
This fifth set proved to be a dramatic one. A knee injury sustained early in the second appeared to hamper him and he admitted after the match that he may yet withdraw from the tournament. The sluggish movement of the World No.1 resulted in him handing the tie to Cerundolo on a plate. He established a 4-2 lead in the fourth set.
Before Djokovic again with his back against the wall stormed back into the tie with his movement improving and he took the set 7-5 and he made light work of Cerundolo in the fifth set winning it 6-3 and sealing his spot in the Quarter-Finals. The four-hour and 39-minute affair was certainly not one for the faint hearted including Jelena. She went from jumping for joy in the stands after his late win over Musetti to live domestics in the stands. It is the second consecutive five-setter for Djokovic.
He will know though that in facing Casper Ruud next, he won't get similar chances to return with the Norwegian more likely to do what Musetti and Cerundolo couldn't and that is put him away.
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