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Novak Djokovic says he wants to “focus on tennis” after claiming in a magazine interview he had been “poisoned” when detained in a Melbourne hotel.
Local reporters unsuccessfully demanded further explanation 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 GQ magazine, external 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,” he added.
“I had a really high level of heavy metal. Heavy metal. I had the lead, very high level of lead and mercury.”
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.
