Novak Djokovic has sensationally claimed he was poisioned with lead when he was detained in before being deported back in 2022.
The tennis superstar recently revealed the trauma he still endures surrounding his Melbourne Covid nightmare in 2022.
Then immigration minister Alex Hawke infamously denied Djokovic entry into the country three years ago because he was not fully vaccinated.
Djokovic was detained at Melbourne’s Park Hotel for five days as he challenged the decision before he was sent home.
In an interview with GQ ahead of this year’s n Open, the 24-time Grand Slam champion has alleged he had been positioned during his time in the hotel.
‘I had some health issues. And I realised that in that hotel in Melbourne I was fed with some food that poisoned me,’ Djokovic said.
Novak Djokovic has claimed he was ‘poisioned’ before he was deported from in 2022
The tennis legend was deported after a row over his vaccination status in January 2022
Djokovic recently revealed he still feels ‘trauma’ when he visits Melbourne after his deportation
‘I had some discoveries when I came back to Serbia. I never told this to anybody publicly, but discoveries that I was, I had a really high level of heavy metal. Heavy metal. I had the lead, very high level of lead and mercury.
When asked whether he believed it came from the food, Djokovic replied ‘That’s the only way.’
A spokesperson from ’s Department of Home Affairs told GQ, ‘For privacy reasons, the Department cannot comment on individual cases.’
Djokovic claimed the only food he had was provided by hotel, while he claimed his treatment was different to other athletes quarantining because he had been placed in a ‘kind of jail type room’.
Djokovic was forced to leave just days before he was scheduled to walk on court as the defending n Open champion in January 2022.
His detention came after he entered the country unvaccinated during pandemic border restrictions.
Djokovic’s visa had been cancelled by the n Government on ‘health and good order’ grounds, with an appeal against the decision ultimately being rejected.
The Serbian star suggested his ultimate deportation was down to fears from ‘s Government that he had become a ‘hero’ for the growing anti-vaccination movement in the country at the time.
Djokovic claimed his deportation was due to him being viewed as a ‘hero’ to anti-vaxxers
Anthony Albanese this week had declared Djokovic’s treatment by the former federal government as ‘astonishing’
‘That’s the reason why I was deported from ,’ Djokovic said. ‘That’s what the three federal judges said in the end. Their sentence is that they are not in a position to question the discretionary right of the [immigration] minister.
‘It was so political. It had nothing really to do with vaccine or COVID or anything else. It’s just political. The politicians could not stand me being there. For them, I think, it was less damage to deport me than to keep me there.’
Djokovic insisted his stance has not changed, stating he is ‘not pro vaccine and not anti-vax’, with the 37-year-old suggesting people should have the right to choose.
He confirmed that he did not get vaccinated following his deportation from , saying ‘I don’t fell like I needed one’ and that he is ‘extremely mindful’ of what he consumes as a professional athlete.
Djokovic maintained he was not a threat to anyone when on his arrival in in 2022, with the star saying he ‘had antibodies’ having tested positive for Covid on December 16 in 2021.
The positive test had initially helped Djokovic earned an exemption from ’s rules on unvaccinated people entering the country.
Djokovic’s visa was ultimately cancelled after a 10-day saga, forcing the defending champion to miss that year’s n Open.
Earlier this week, n Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared Novak Djokovic‘s treatment by the former federal government was ‘astonishing’.
‘I made comments about it at the time,’ Albanese told reporters.
‘I found it astonishing that in the lead-up to Christmas, Novak Djokovic was denied by the then-federal government the opportunity to see his Orthodox minister, priest during that period.
‘That was something that I think was hard to justify.’
His comments came after Djokovic had spoken of feeling ‘trauma’ when he returns to Melbourne.
‘I have to be quite frank,’ he told the Herald Sun.
‘The last couple of times that I landed in , to go through passport control and immigration – I had a bit of trauma from three years ago.
‘And some traces still stay there when I’m passing passport control, just checking out if someone from immigration zone is approaching.
‘The person checking my passport — are they going to take me, detain me again or let me go?
Djokovic will begin his pursuit of a record 25th Grand Slam title at Melbourne next week
The tennis legend has now included former rival Andy Murray in his coaching team
‘I must admit I have that feeling.’
In 2023, Djokovic told Channel Nine that he felt like ‘the villain of the world’ in Melbourne, where he was detained at a hotel with asylum seekers before being deported.
Djokovic will begin his pursuit of a record-extending 11th n Open title next week, with the tennis legend now coached by former rival Andy Murray.
The seventh seed will start his campaign for a record 25th Grand Slam title against American wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy.