Novak Djokovic says he was ‘poisoned by lead in his food’ after he was detained over Covid during Australian Open

NOVAK Djokovic claims he was "poisoned" by food he ate while detained during his 2022 Australian Open visa saga.

The 24-time tennis Grand Slam winner had his visa cancelled ahead of the tournament following days of drama over the country's Covid entry rules and his unvaccinated status.

The 37-year-old Serbian was detained in a Melbourne hotel shared with asylum seekers.

"I realised that in that hotel in Melbourne I was fed with some food that poisoned me," Djokovic, who is known to monitor his diet strictly, told GQ.

"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."

Djokovic went on to describe how he was "very sick" with flu-like symptoms as he then headed back to Europe and an emergency medical team had to treat him multiple times.

However, ahead of this year's Open, which kicks off on Sunday, he says he doesn't hold any grudges.

Australia's Department of Home Affairs had declined to comment on the matter, citing privacy reasons, according to GQ.

VACCINATION

Djokovic had missed out Grand Slams in Australia and the US after choosing not to get a Covid shot, violating the countries' vaccination policies.

He has since said he was never against the Covid vaccine, insisting that he was simply exercising his freedom to choose not to have it.

Speaking to John McEnroe in an interview aired in September 2023, Djokovic said: “I was never anti-vax.

“I was always pro-freedom to choose. And that’s something that we took really for granted.

“I didn’t feel like a lot of people had a choice really.”

Djokovic also said his bans made him feel like a “villain of the world.”

He added: “I just wanted to compete and I wanted to play tennis, because that’s what I do best.”

BACKLASH

In 2022, the tennis ace faced a tirade of backlash after coming clean about knowingly flouting isolation measures in Serbia while infected - which according to the country's law was punishable by up to three years behind bars.

The Serb is seeking a record-extending 11th Australian Open men's singles title and 25th Grand Slam in Melbourne later this month.

It comes after he suffered a straight sets defeat to 6ft 11in giant Reilly Opelka at the Brisbane International last week.

In 2024, he ended the year without a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2017.

And Djokovic fans will be concerned about his form heading into his favourite Slam, following defeat to world No293 Opelka in the quarter-finals in Brisbane.

The American, 27, whose best Grand Slam performance came at the 2021 US Open when he reached the fourth round, claimed a stunning 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 victory over Djokovic.

He overpowered the Olympic gold medallist with 16 aces to his opponent's eight on the way to a memorable win.

Opelka did reach 17th in the world in February 2022 but this result still comes as a huge shock.