Djokovic is working with Andy Murray as his coach in Australia in a bid to become the first player in tennis history with 25 Grand Slam singles titles
Novak Djokovic (Pic: AFP)
Novak Djokovic did not want to rehash 'or even discuss at all, really' what he said Friday was a months-old interview with GQ magazine in which he recalled having high levels of metal in his blood from food he was served while detained before being deported from Australia in 2022.
ADVERTISEMENT
"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 said ahead of the Australian Open, which starts Sunday (Saturday EST).
"If you want to see what I've said and get more info on that, you can always revert to the article," Djokovic said about the piece posted online this week.
Djokovic is working with Andy Murray as his coach in Australia in a bid to become the first player in tennis history with 25 Grand Slam singles titles.
In a lengthy GQ story that covered several topics, Djokovic spoke about what happened three years ago, when he was not vaccinated against COVID-19 and was kicked out of Australia.
"I had some health issues. And I realized that in that hotel in Melbourne, I was fed with some food that poisoned me," he said. "I had some discoveries when I came back to Serbia. I never told this to anybody publicly, but ... I had a really high level of heavy metal. Heavy metal. I had ... very high level of lead and mercury."
The 37-year-old Serbian did not directly answer at the end of Friday's news conference when asked whether he had any evidence linking the blood levels he described to GQ to the food he ate in detention.
Djokovic will be participating in the Australian Open Grand Slam event, where he will be trying to tick three boxes, secure a record-extending 11th Australian Open title, unlock his record-breaking 25th grand slam title, the most by any player across men's and women's categories and finally, hit a century of ATP Tour level titles.
His first-round opponent will be USA's Nishesh Basavareddy on Sunday.
Speaking to GQ Magazine as quoted by Sydney Morning Herald, Djokovic said, "My dad is trying to retire me for a while now ... He is like, 'What else do you want to do?' He understands the amount and the intensity of the pressure and tension that is out there, and the stress that has an effect on my health, my body, and then, consequently, on everyone else who is around me, including him. So that is why he was like, 'My son, start to think about how you want to end this'."
"I do think about more how than when. When I am not thinking about it as of yet so intensely. How, how I would like to end it? I feel if I start to lose more and feel like there is a bigger gap, that I start to have more challenges in overcoming those big obstacles in big slams, then I will probably call it a day. But right now I am still OK, keep continuing," he added.
Djokovic is one of the most decorated names in tennis history. He has the most grand slams by a men's player, the joint-highest number of grand slams won by any player, and a career golden slam to his name after he secured the Olympic gold medal in Paris following a win over Carlos Alcaraz.
He has been a 10-time Australian Open champion, three-time French Open champion, a seven-time Wimbledon champion and a four-time US Open champion. He has also won seven ATP Finals titles and two Olympic medals, including a singles bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
His last ATP tour-level title win came in the ATP Paris Masters event in November 2023 while his last Grand Slam win was the US Open title against Daniil Medvedev in September that year.
Djokovic recently took part in the Brisbane International, losing to Reilly Opelka in the quarterfinals. He will be teaming up with tennis icon and former rival Andy Murray as a coach-player duo for this tournament.
(With agency inputs)
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
