Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic claimed he was “poisoned” with lead and mercury during his brief stay in Australia in 2022, before being deported from the country.
On the eve of that year’s Australian Open, the former world number 1’s visa was canceled and he was deported from the country for not having been vaccinated against Covid-19.
During his legal battle to stay in Australia, Djokovic was confined to a hotel.
“I had some health problems. And I realized that in this holding hotel they gave me food that poisoned me,” said the 37-year-old tennis player in a long interview with GQ magazine published on Thursday (9).
“I discovered things when I went back to Serbia. I never said this to anyone publicly, but I discovered that it had a very high level of heavy metals. It had lead, a very high level of lead and mercury,” he explained.
Asked if he believed his food had been contaminated, the Serb replied: “It’s the only way.”
This Friday (10), in Melbourne, Djokovic did not want to give details on the topic when asked if he had proof that these high levels of heavy metals in the blood were related to food.
However, he did not deny the accusations of poisoning either.
“The GQ article came out yesterday […] I gave this interview many months ago,” said the Serb two days before the start of the Australian Open.
“I would like not to talk about it because I want to focus on tennis and why I’m here,” the tennis player added.
“If you want to see what I said and have more information about it, you can always go back to the article”, he said.
An Australian Home Office spokesman said he could not comment on individual cases “for privacy reasons”.
The Australian government stated that the food served at the hotel underwent health controls and that samples of the various dishes were provided to the contractor responsible for detention services.
A year after the controversy, Djokovic returned to Melbourne and won the Australian Open for the tenth time. Starting next Sunday (12), the Serbian will be looking for another title to reach the record mark of 25 Grand Slams.
Djokovic said he holds “no grudges” against the country. “Many Australians who have met me in Australia in recent years or in other parts of the world have come forward to apologize for the treatment I received because they were ashamed of their own government,” he said in the interview.
“Indeed, I love being here and I think my results are a testament to how I feel playing tennis and being in this country,” he concluded.
