Novak Djokovic said he was “poisoned” by the food he ingested while in detention during his 2022 Australian Open visa saga, the former world number one told GQ in an interview published on Thursday.
The Serbian, a 24-time major winner, had his visa canceled before the tournament after days of drama over Australia’s COVID-19 entry rules and his unvaccinated status, and was detained in a Melbourne hotel shared with asylum seekers.
He was initially granted a visa exemption, but this was revoked by Australian Border Force, leading to the Serbian star being detained in a hotel.
“I realized that in this hotel in Melbourne I was being fed food that was poisoning me,” Djokovic told GQ.
“I made some discoveries when I returned to Serbia. I never told anyone publicly, but discoveries, I had a very high level of heavy metal. Heavy metal.
“I had lead, very high levels of lead and mercury.”
Despite the drama of 2022, Novak Djokovic says he still loves coming to Australia. (PAA: James Ross)
GQ said Australia’s Department of Home Affairs declined to comment on the matter, citing privacy reasons.
Ahead of his scheduled Australian Open press conference on Friday afternoon, Djokovic declined to elaborate on his claims.
“The QC article was posted online yesterday. It is the February issue and will be published in print,” he said.
“I did this interview several months ago, so I would appreciate not talking about it in more detail because I would like to focus on tennis and why I am here.
“If you want to see what I said and get more information about it, you can always come back to the article.
In the GQ article, the Serbian champion said he was a “public menace” and had become “a hero” to growing anti-vaccination sentiment in Australia.
“This is the real reason I was deported from Australia,” he said.
“It was so political. It had nothing to do with the vaccine or COVID-19 or anything else. It’s just political.
“The politicians couldn’t stand me being there. For them, I think it was less damaging to expel me than to keep me there.”
Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley told reporters in Melbourne on Friday that he was not interested in talking about Djokovic’s claims, but was instead focused on the upcoming grand slam.
“Yeah, look, I’m honestly not going to go there. It was over three years ago,” Tiley said after being asked about Djokovic’s claim that he was poisoned while detained at the Melbourne hotel.
When pressed again, Tiley said, “I’m not going to answer the question. I’m just not going to go. That was three years ago. We’re just focused on putting on a big event.”
Djokovic told Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper this week that he still suffered trauma from his experiences three years ago and felt stress upon arriving at the city’s airport.
During his interview with GQ, Djokovic opened up about the days leading up to his visa being canceled, while he was in Melbourne preparing for the Australian Open.
“I was in a rented house and I was followed by police everywhere I went, and I had the helicopter flying over the center court where I was training. I wasn’t allowed into the locker room, the main locker room,” he said.
“So they had to find another changing room so I could change, take a shower and get me off site. So I was kind of like a fugitive there.”
Djokovic returned to Australia in 2023 and won the Australian Open title for the 10th time.
He said his family was resentful of Australia for the 2022 saga, but that is not the case.
“I have never had any ill will towards (the) Australian people. On the contrary, in fact, many Australians that I have met, that I have met in Australia in recent years or elsewhere in the world, have come to me and apologized for the treatment that I received because they were embarrassed by their own government at that time,” he said.
“And I think the government changed and they reinstated my visa and I was very grateful for that.
“There is a new prime minister and new ministers, new people, so I don’t hold any grudges.
“I actually love being there and I think my results are a testament to how great I feel about playing tennis and just being in this country.”
The 37-year-old begins his campaign for a record 25th major title at the Australian Open next week.
Reuters/ABC
