Novak Djokovic reveals his trauma over being detained in Melbourne during Covid – before getting a VERY blunt response from Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan

Novak Djokovic has revealed the ‘trauma’ he faces when he visits Melbourne after being detained and deported during the Covid crisis – before receiving a stern response from the Victorian premier.

Although the Serbian superstar has played some of his best tennis matches in Australia, he recently admitted he still feels uncomfortable setting foot in Melbourne – the city with the longest coronavirus lockdowns in the world.

Djokovic was forced to leave Australia just days before he was due to take the court as defending Australian Open champion in January 2022 because he entered the country unvaccinated during pandemic border restrictions.

“I have to be very honest,” he told the newspaper Herald Sun.

‘The last few times I landed in Australia to go through passport control and immigration, I had a trauma from three years ago.

‘And there are still traces left behind when I pass passport control, just to see if anyone from the immigration zone is approaching.

The tennis legend was deported after a row over his vaccination status (pictured) in scenes that made headlines around the world

‘The person checking my passport: is he going to take me away, detain me again or let me go?

“I have to admit I have that feeling.”

Victorian Prime Minister Jacinta Allan responded to Djokovic’s revelation with a blunt statement that showed him no sympathy.

“Covid has been tough on all of us. It didn’t matter who you were or what you did, it was a difficult time,” she said.

“The pandemic is behind us and what I am focused on is supporting a great Australian Open for 2025.

“We’re seeing thousands of visitors from around the world and across the country coming to Melbourne for the Australian Open.”

In 2023, Djokovic told Channel Nine he felt like “the bad guy in the world” in Melbourne, where he was held in a hotel with asylum seekers before being deported.

“There were two or three other people who came into Australia 10 days before me, with exactly the same exemption as me,” he said.

Prime Minister Jacinta Allan responded to Djokovic’s revelation about the impact of his detention and deportation with a blunt statement

Djokovic has played some of his best tennis at the Australian Open over the years, winning the title a record ten times

‘I just followed the rules. My exemption was verified by an independent body and a panel of doctors… and I came in with all the valid paperwork.

‘Everything got out of hand and then I was labeled this or that. It was so big in the media that I just couldn’t fight it, I didn’t even want to address it.

“Obviously I wanted to stay here and play tennis, but at a certain point, with the amount of craziness going around, I just wanted to leave and go back home.”

The saga lasted about two weeks, but Djokovic was eventually deported. Fellow superstar Rafael Nadal won the tournament and Djokovic says it took him some time to get over his ordeal.

“I stayed home for a few weeks, didn’t really hang out much,” he added. ‘I just hoped the situation would calm down, which it did, but the marks remained there.

‘The marks continued for several months afterwards and I didn’t know if it would affect my game and the way I play. It wasn’t easy for me mentally to regroup and restart. At every press conference I was asked at least one or two questions about Australia and what was happening. Even when I wanted to move on, people would remind me.

“It’s still a shame and it pains me that most people will have the wrong idea about what happened. The media has targeted me heavily in recent months and not in a positive way, so that has caused a lot of unrest for my brand, for me personally and for the people around me.’