Novak Djokovic has said he was “poisoned” by the food he ingested while detained during his 2022 Australian Open visa saga, the former world number one told GQ in an interview released on Thursday.
The Serbian 24-times major winner had his visa cancelled ahead of the tournament following days of drama over Australia’s COVID-19 entry rules and his unvaccinated status, and was detained in a Melbourne hotel shared with asylum-seekers.
He was initially granted a visa exemption but it was revoked by the Australian Border Force, which led to the Serbian star being held in hotel detention.
“I realised that in that hotel in Melbourne, I was fed with some food that poisoned me,” Djokovic 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.”
Hellbound and Down 