"How to watch without heart attack" - Novak Djokovic's wife Jelena teases Serb over French Open "drama" amid consecutive 5-set wins

Novak Djokovic's wife Jelena hilariously teased the Serb for his impressive back-to-back five-set wins in the third and fourth rounds of the 2024 French Open. Both of the matches had lasted over four hours each.

Top seed Djokovic is aiming to defend his title at Roland Garros, secure his fourth French Open title, and claim his 25th Grand Slam title overall. The World No.1 kicked off his campaign at the clay-court Major by defeating wild card Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 7-6(3), 6-4 in the first round, followed by a victory over Roberto Carballes Baena (6-4, 6-1, 6-2) in the second round.

In the third-round match, the Serb battled past Lorenzo Musetti in a grueling five-set encounter that lasted four hours and 29 minutes, culminating in a 7-5, 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory. The match concluded at 3:08 a.m., setting a new record for the latest finish in the tournament's history. He then defeated 23rd seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in another marathon match that lasted four hours and 39 minutes in the fourth round.

In both the third and fourth rounds, Novak Djokovic showcased his resilience by bouncing back from losing the second and third sets to ultimately win the match.

These back-to-back five-set wins, where Djokovic snatched victory from the jaws of defeat prompted his wife Jelena to poke fun at him. She shared a post from a fan took to social media and said that people needed to find a way to watch such intense encounters without risking a "heart attack".

"We gotta figure out how to watch this drama without a heart attack guys..." Jelena captioned her Instagram story.

Screen grab of Jelena's Instagram story

Novak Djokovic will face Casper Ruud at French Open 2024 QF

Djokovic and Ruud at the ATP Finals

After edging out Francisco Cerundolo, Djokovic will next face seventh seed Casper Ruud in the semifinals. It will be a rematch of the 2023 final, where the Serb triumphed in straight sets.

Ruud booked his place in the quarterfinals of the clay-court Major for the third year in a row after a 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over 12th seed Taylor Fritz. Speaking about the match, the Norwegian said that the Serb would be ready for the match or would at least try his best to be.

"Novak is Novak. He's going to be ready no matter what happens, or at least he's going to do his best to be ready. He usually he does great. I'll try to think that I'm 25 and he's 37," Ruud said (3:56).

"Maybe that doesn't mean much because he's still in great physical shape, but he's played a couple more hours than me leading up to this game, and luckily my games haven't been as physically demanding as yours: if there is any possibility of being able to take advantage of this circumstance, I will try to take advantage of it," he added.

Djokovic and Ruud will lock horns for the seventh time, with the Serb leading 5-1 in the head-to-head between the two. Their last meeting came in the semifinals of the Monte-Carlo Masters, with Ruud winning 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.

Whoever out of the two wins, will take on either fourth seed Alexander Zverev or 11th seed Alex de Minaur in the semifinals of the French Open.