Was Novak Djokovic poisoned during Australian detention in 2022? This is what the man with 24 Grand Slams maintains in an interview given to GQposted online Thursday January 9. “I had health problems. And I realized that in this hotel in Melbourne (the one where he was detained) I was given food that poisoned me”advanced the winner of 24 Grand Slam tournaments, who will try to win a 25th at the Australian Open (January 12 to 26). “I discovered things when I returned to Serbia. “I never said it publicly, but I discovered high levels of heavy metals.”
In his body, Djokovic claimed to have discovered “lead, a very high level of lead and mercury”. Asked whether the contamination was of food origin, the Serb judged that it was “the only explanation” possible. Friday at a press conference, Djokovic refused to comment on his interview with GQ and stressed that it had been carried out “months” earlier. “I would like to concentrate on tennis”evacuated the player. Asked about Djokovic’s statements, an Australian Department of Home Affairs spokesperson declined to comment, citing “confidentiality” individual cases.
Trauma
With these allegations, the Serb reopens a chapter that we thought was definitively closed. The one where the former world number 1, now 7th, found himself entangled in an endless health and diplomatic imbroglio. Djokovic, a notorious vaccine skeptic, was turned away in early 2022 upon his arrival in Australia and placed in administrative detention. The player, who had contracted Covid three weeks earlier, hoped to benefit from an exemption to enter the country without being vaccinated, but the authorities did not accept it, and his visa was canceled. After being detained, Djokovic was finally expelled from Australia and was unable to play the first Grand Slam of the season, which he however won for the tenth time a year later, in 2023.
Earlier in the week, the player returned to this episode during an interview with the Australian daily Herald Sun. “I have to be completely frank. The last two times I landed in Australia, when going through passport and immigration controls, a trauma, that of 2022, came back”the Serb then admitted. “Some memories are still there when I go through passport control, just to check if anyone from the immigration area is approaching. Will the person checking my passport take me away, detain me again, or let me go? I admit it: I have this feeling, notably told the player, who will indeed be in the running for the 2025 edition, from Sunday.
