Serbian tennis legend Novak Djokovic claims he was fed food that poisoned him while he was detained ahead of the 2022 Australian Open.

Djokovic was infamously deported from the country three years ago when he did not meet the country’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements at the height of the pandemic.

He stayed at a Melbourne immigration detention facility for five days alongside refugees and asylum seekers after the federal government cancelled his visa.

Residents at the Park Hotel in Carlton had for years complained about its disgusting conditions, which included maggots and moldy food, poor medical services and a lack of hygiene.

Now, Djokovic says it was so bad that he got back home to Serbia with poisoning from “lead and mercury”.

“I had a paper with like a hundred items: from toothbrush, toothpaste, water, food, whatever,” he told American publication GQ Sports.

“And I had to choose, tick the certain boxes, and each of these items carries a certain amount of points, and I had 60 points in total of what I was allowed to receive.

“So I did that 59 or 60 points, and I gave it to them. Twenty minutes later I come back and they say, we made a mistake, you don’t have 60, you have 30. So I was like, you must be kidding me.”

After initially winning a court case that reinstated his visa, Djokovic then had it cancelled again and he was forced to board a private plane back to Serbia, where he came across some health problem that stemmed from his time in Melbourne, he claims.

“I had some health issues. And I realised that in that hotel in Melbourne I was fed with some food that poisoned me,” Djokovic said.

“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. Heavy metal. I had the lead, very high level of lead and mercury.”

Pressed on whether he thought the substances entered his body via the food in Melbourne, Djokovic said: “That’s the only way.

“Yeah, (I was) very sick. It was like the flu, just a simple flu. But when it was days after that a simple flu took me down so much, I had an emergency medical team treat me at home. I had that several times and then I had to do toxicology (tests).”

The 37-year-old, who has lifted the trophy a record 10 times in Melbourne, says he holds no grudges against Australia, but he can’t say the same thing for his family.

“Well, for my wife and my parents and my family, it’s not (water under the bridge),” he says.

“For me, it is. For me, I’m fine. I never held any grudge over Australian people. In contrary, actually, a lot of Australian people that I meet, I met in Australia the last few years or elsewhere in the world, coming up to me and apologising to me for the treatment I received because they were embarrassed by their own government at that point.

“And I think the government’s changed and they reinstated my visa and I was very grateful for that. It’s a new prime minister and new ministers, new people, so I don’t hold any grudge for that.

“I actually love being there, and I think my results are a testament to my sensation of playing tennis and just being in that country.”’

Djokovic has returned to Melbourne and Australia every year since the deportation, winning his 10th AO crown in 2023.

This year, he will attempt to make it 11, and 25 overall.

On Thursday, he drew 19-year-old American Nishesh Basavareddy to play in the first round at Melbourne Park.

The teenager will get the chance to show Djokovic how much he has learned from his first ATP semi-final at the Auckland Classic this week.

“My favourite has always been Djokovic,” said Basavareddy.

“I’ve looked up to a lot of different players and modelled my game after a lot of players, but he’s been my favourite.”