MELBOURNE – Novak Djokovic lives a paradox in Melbourne. It’s a city that brings him both great memories and others that are traumatic, humiliating, and painful.
The latest of his nightmares to come to light: a claim of food poisoning during his detention at the hotel before his highly publicized deportation from Australia during the pandemic.
“When I got home, I had some health issues. And I realized that, at that hotel in Melbourne, I was fed something that poisoned me,” he said to GQ Magazine in August, while enjoying his vacation in Kotor, Montenegro.
The media published the extensive interview with the Serbian, which included this accusation, on its website this Thursday, 72 hours before the start of the Australian Open.
“The article was published online yesterday, and I believe it’s part of the February edition, so its coming up in print version. I did this interview several months ago, so I appreciate not going into more detail about it; I want to focus on tennis,” said the Serbian, clearly upset by the timing of the release of his statements, in response to questions from an Australian journalist who asked for proof to support the veracity of his claim.
After discussing the alleged poisoned food, Djokovic left the pre-event press conference, while a couple of local journalists attempted to ask more questions, citing health concerns surrounding the issue in the country.
“I made some discoveries when I returned to Serbia. I never told anyone this publicly, but I discovered I had a very high level of heavy metals. I had lead, a very high level of lead and mercury,” he revealed in the magazine.
The joyful memories of ten titles at Melbourne Park and a monarchical dominance over the last decade on Australian soil contrast with the stress of eleven days in detention and subsequent deportation in January 2022 for not complying with the government’s requirements in the fight against the COVID-19 crisis.
He had warned a few weeks ago in an interview with The Herald Sun: “The last times I arrived in Australia, going through customs, I felt a bit of trauma from three years ago. Will the person reviewing my passport detain me again, or will they let me pass? I must admit I have that feeling.”
In the GQ piece, he also expressed what he believes were the real reasons behind his deportation: “The politicians couldn’t stand me being there… they proclaimed me the world’s number one villain.”
Despite admitting he had no knowledge about the possible poisoning, Nick Kyrgios was direct when he faced the press. “We treated him like shit, for sure. We shouldn’t have done that,” said the 2022 Wimbledon finalist.
Kyrgios was one of the few to publicly defend him, while many called for his expulsion, a stance that shifted the previously tense relationship between them, making them good friends and doubles partners nowadays.
