Novak Djokovic claims he was POISONED on eve of Australian Open - 'That’s the only way'
Novak Djokovic has reignited tensions Down Under by suggesting that he may have been poisoned while staying in an immigration hotel in Melbourne during his Covid-19 visa fiasco
by Felix Keith · The MirrorNovak Djokovic has claimed that he may have been poisoned while he was staying in a Melbourne hotel during his visa fiasco three years ago.
Djokovic was kicked out of the country before the Australian Open in January 2022 after refusing to get the Covid-19 vaccine. The fiasco was a huge story at the time, with Immigration Minister Alex Hawke getting personally involved in his case.
The Serbian had planned to defend his title by using a medical exemption, which had been greenlighted by the state government and Tennis Australia, only for the Australian Border Force to intervene. Djokovic was eventually forced to leave Australia, but is now back Down Under and aiming to win a record-extending 11th Australian Open title.
Speaking before the tournament gets underway this weekend, Djokovic made a remarkable claim, suggesting that his illness upon returning home to Serbia in January 2022 may have been caused by foul play during a five-day stay at an immigration hotel. “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, who observes a meticulous diet, brought in an emergency medical team to treat him. “Yeah, very sick. It was like the flu, just a simple flu. But when it was days after that a simple flu took me down so much,” he added. “I had that several times and then I had to do toxicology [tests].”
When asked about the allegations by GQ, Australia’s Department of Home Affairs said it did not comment on individual cases. Djokovic still has not been vaccinated against Covid-19 because he doesn’t feel he needs it. “I’m a professional athlete, I’m extremely mindful of what I consume, and I do regular tests, blood tests, any kind of tests,” he said.
“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.”
While he doesn’t hold a grudge against Australia – where 10 of his 24 Grand Slam titles have been won – he said his family don’t consider the incident to be water under the bridge. Nevertheless, he told Melbourne's Herald Sun this week: "The last couple of times I landed in Australia, 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? I must admit I have that feeling."
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