Tennis world number one, Novak Djokovic says he wants to focus on tennis after claiming in a magazine interview that he had been poisoned when detained in a Melbourne hotel.
Local reporters demanded for further explanation but to no avail as the 37-year-old Serb walked out of a pre-Australian Open news conference which ended in bizarre fashion.
Djokovic, a record 10-time men’s champion at Melbourne Park, was deported from the Australian city in 2022, after arriving without a vaccination against COVID-19.
The deportation came when he failed to overturn a decision from the Australian government to cancel his visa on public health grounds.
In an interview with journalists published on Thursday, Djokovic said he had some health issues when he returned to Serbia.
“I realised that in that hotel in Melbourne I was fed with some food that poisoned me. I had a really high level of heavy metal. I had the lead, very high level of lead and mercury,” he added.
The Australian Border Force has not responded to the accusations. “For privacy reasons, we cannot comment on individual cases,” the Department of Home Affairs told BBC Sport.
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Djokovic’s news conference on Friday had been wrapped up by a moderator before the player said he would answer another question from an Australian reporter.
She asked Djokovic if he had evidence to support his claim the food he was served while detained in the Park Hotel caused the heavy metal levels.
“I’ve done that interview many months ago,” he replied, adding “I would appreciate not talking more in detail about that, as I would like to focus on the tennis and why I’m here.”
Djokovic flew to Australia at the end of December and told Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper this week he still feels “trauma” when he arrives in the country.
One Australian academic, speaking to The Guardian, said Djokovic’s claim was a “wild accusation.”
It’s possible but very unlikely given how long he was locked up,” said Damian Maganja, research fellow in food policy at the George Institute for Global Health.
“These meals were probably made in mass amounts and there haven’t been other reports as far as I know.”
