The 2022 Australian Open left a dark spot in the career of Novak Djokovic. Ahead of the tournament, he received an exemption on COVID-19 vaccination and was allowed to enter the country to participate in the tournament. However, on his arrival, Djokovic’s documents were found to be unsatisfactory to be allowed an exemption, and he found himself in a major soup. Despite availing legal help, Djokovic was deported just a day before the tournament and was denied a chance to defend his title. Three years later, the memories of that dark episode still resonate in Djokovic’s mind.

With the 2025 Australian Open just days away, the Serb has already begun his preparations with an aim to win a record 11th title here. Ahead of the tournament, he was interviewed by GQ during which he remembered his unforgettable experience from the 2022 edition of the tournament.

Djokovic was put in detention at a hotel in Melbourne on his arrival in the city. Recalling those tough times, he said, “I had some health issues. And I realised that in that hotel in Melbourne I was fed some food that poisoned me. Well, 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, a very high level of lead and mercury.”

Djokovic was put in a hotel-cum-detention center for five days where he faced this ordeal. During that phase, his family even compared Djokovic’s treatment with a prisoner, saying, “He is not a criminal but an athlete.” Apart from Djokovic, 30-plus asylum seekers were also detained in the Park Hotel where the Serb was put in. Some of those people had been there for more than two years as the country’s strict immigration rules didn’t spare anyone.

Despite three years passing by, Djokovic still has the dark memories afresh from that episode. He made a startling revelation about his feelings about visiting Australia after that controversy.

Novak Djokovic admits to having trauma from his deportation incident

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic years back, Australia had strict rules for anybody entering the country. With Djokovic refusing to get vaccinated, he failed to provide valid documents that justified the exemptions on which he had obtained the visa. As a result, Airport authorities in Melbourne detained him and subsequently, Djokovic wasn’t allowed to participate in the Australian Open.

As Djokovic entered the country this time around, he said, “The last couple of times that I landed in Australia, to go through passport control and immigration — I had a bit of trauma from three years ago. Some traces still stay there when I’m passing passport control, just checking out if someone from [the] immigration zone is approaching. The person checking my passport — are they going to take me, detain me again or let me go? I must admit I have that feeling.”

However, with that episode behind him, Djokovic would look to focus on the task at hand, that is, winning the Australian Open. The Serb will open his campaign against a high-flying Nishesh Basavareddy of the United States. Who do you think would win this? Let us know in the comments below.