Djokovic, Open Hearted About His Detention in Australia: "They Gave Me Contaminated Food"

Just a few days ago, Novak Djokovic confessed that a certain "trauma" still lingered from the experience he had in Australia in January 2022. The process he went through until being deported from the oceanic country is well known, in a surreal saga that included detention and isolation at the airport, forced confinement in a detention hotel for refugees, a successful initial trial that allowed him to train for a couple of days in Melbourne, and a final second trial that confirmed his ban from setting foot on Australian soil based on being a "danger" to the public health of the country.

Those fifteen days ended up becoming one of the most remembered episodes of recent times, a true political disgrace that left Djokovic, who had entered Australian soil with a legal and certified medical exemption, unable to participate in his most successful Grand Slam. Nevertheless, the Serbian made amends with the oceanic country and ended up getting his personal vendetta a year later, when he would lift another champion's trophy. Three years have passed, and rarely has Nole decided to open up and tell how he lived those days: in his latest interview with GQ, Djokovic offers his perspective and reveals unheard-of details that make that saga even more surreal.

"While waiting at the detainee hotel, they gave me a paper with hundreds of icons: toothpaste, toothbrush, water, food... I had to choose, and each one was worth a total of points. I could receive a maximum of 60 points. I filled it out and handed in the paper. Twenty minutes later, they came back and told me they had made a mistake, that I had 30 points and not 60. I thought they were joking," the Serbian points out about his stay in what many called "the hotel of horrors". It wouldn't be the last time Novak was watched: during the days he could train, after the first trial where his visa was returned, he was treated like a "fugitive".

"When I won the first trial, I was free. Well, free, if you can call it freedom. I was in a rented house, and the police followed me everywhere, there was even a helicopter flying over Rod Laver while I trained. I didn't have access to the main locker room; they had to find me an alternative locker room to change and shower. I felt like some kind of fugitive." Shortly after, Djokovic was deported from Australia for being considered a danger to public health, an argument that turned that matter into purely political.

Tainted Food, Public Opinion, and the End of the Calvary

It was completely political. It had nothing to do with vaccines or COVID; it was political. Politicians couldn't bear having me there: deporting me caused them less damage than keeping me there. With my situation in Australia, I was labeled as the world's number one villain. To this day, 99% of the people don't know why I was deported from Australia. For what reasons. People think I was deported from Australia because I wasn't vaccinated, that I tried to force my entry into the country, which is completely false," states Djokovic with conviction that he has not changed his beliefs that led him to live through that hell.

pro-choice for you and your body. I don't think it's right for someone to take away my choice of what I want in my body." However, the story doesn't end here. The flight Nole took back was headed for Spain... initially: in the middle of the trip, the plane diverted to Serbia. "My lawyers had information that if I landed in Spain, I could go through the same process as in Australia."

Is there another chapter to this story? Not just that: the segment Djokovic confesses is entirely unheard of, a sort of final pass of a nightmare that hadn't ended yet. "When I got home, I had health problems, and I realized that in that hotel in Melbourne, I was fed contaminated food." How?

I had high levels of lead and mercury. The only way that could be there was through the food. I felt sick, like a simple flu, but after several days, I had tests done, and that was the result. From there, I had toxicology tests done." 

And Now, What?

As mentioned at the beginning, Djokovic returned to Australia a year later to defend his title in Melbourne. It would be useless to assume that the Serbian still harbors resentment towards that country, especially after the government team that deported him was replaced months later. However, his family does not forget the effects of those days of infamous memory.

"For me, it's water under the bridge. For my wife, my parents, and my family, it's not. I am fine. I never held a grudge against the Australians. On the contrary, I have met many Australians who apologized for the treatment I received, who were ashamed of their own government. The government changed; they renewed my visa, and I am grateful for that. There is a new team, so I don't hold grudges. I love being in Australia, and my results attest to the feeling I have when playing tennis and being in that country. I turned the page, completely. I never met the people who deported me. I have no intention of doing so. If it happens, it will be okay too. I will be happy to shake their hands and move on." 

And of course, some might think that was a missed opportunity, especially now that the pursuit for the round number 25 Grand Slam has intensified... but not Djokovic: "If I thought that way, I would be regretting again, and I don't. If anything, that further strengthened my desire to achieve those results." The mentality of a champion after the darkest episode of his career.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Djokovic, a corazón abierto sobre su detención en Australia: "Me dieron comida contaminada"