Novak Djokovic claims he was ‘poisoned’ with a ‘high level of lead’ while being detained during his 2022 Australian Open COVID saga.
The Serbian star had his visa cancelled ahead of the Grand Slam event due to being unvaccinated.
Australia’s COVID entry rules prevented anyone coming into the country without a vaccination leading to Djokovic being held in a hotel in Melbourne before being kicked out of the country.
The Serbian had planned to defend his title by using a medical exemption, which had been greenlit by the state government and Tennis Australia, only for the Australian Border Force to intervene.
But in an interview ahead of his quest to win an 11th Australian Open later this month Djokovic has claimed foul play against him during his hotel stay.
“I realised that in that hotel in Melbourne I was fed with some food that poisoned me,” he 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.”
Asked if it had been put in his food, Djokovic replied: “That’s the only way.”
Djokovic then brought in an emergency medical team to treat him and said he was ‘very sick.’
He added: “It was like the flu, just a simple flu. But when it was days after that a simple flu took me down so much.
“I had that several times and then I had to do toxicology [tests].”
Speaking to John McEnroe in an interview aired in September 2023 about the saga, 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 has still not received the vaccination, stating that he doesn’t feel that he needs it.
“I’m a professional athlete,” he said.
“I’m extremely mindful of what I consume, and I do regular tests, blood tests, any kind of tests.
“I know exactly what’s going on. So I didn’t feel a need to do that.
“Also, what is important to state is knowing that I’m not a threat to anybody. ’Cause I wasn’t. Because I had antibodies.”
Djokovic is down under hoping to win a 25th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.
The tournament starts on Sunday, January 12 and finishes 15 days later.