24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic recently made a shocking claim that he was "poisoned" during his detention in Australia three years ago when he was deported from the Australian Open 2022. The Serbian ace told GQ that he conducted tests on his return to Serbia in 2022 and found strikingly high levels of lead and mercury in his body. The former World No.1 blamed it on the food he consumed during his five-day detention in an immigration facility in Melbourne.
Also Read | "I was fed poisoned food," Novak Djokovic reveals chilling details about his detention in Australia
Novak Djokovic's Appalling Revelation
“I had some health issues. And I realized 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 had a really high level of heavy metal. I had lead, a very high level of lead and mercury,” he added.
Australian Ace Nick Kyrgios noted the grievance of Novak Djokovic and supported him during a press conference ahead of the Australian Open 2025. Kyrios expressed his disappointment and as a native of Australia accepted that his country wronged Djokovic.
“No, I haven’t spoken to him. I didn’t even know that,” he said. “But I’ll stand on... we treated him like s**t, that’s for sure. We wouldn’t have done that,” he added.
Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic could together win Australian Open 2025
The AO 2025 could prove to be monumental for the Serb. Djokovic is searching for the historic 25th Grand Slam title and the wait could be over in the next two weeks. Being so close to the feat, Djokovic has included his former rival Andy Murray in his coaching staff. Murray and Djokovic produced some of the all-time classics playing together, including the epic semi-final that took place in 2012, however, now that they have joined hands it would be intriguing to witness how this partnership functions. Moreover, should Djokovic succeed, it would go down as an unprecedented case when foes, joined forces to claim the grand slam together. Also, Djokovic winning the Australian Open 2025 would be Murray's first-ever Australian Open title. The Brit came close to winning on five occasions but lost in the final each time. What's more to note is that four of his defeats in the Australian Open final came against the man he is coaching now.