The Australian Open is here, and Novak Djokovic, the legend from Serbia, is primed to enthrall Melbourne once again. Competing for the 20th time at his fortress, the 37-year-old aims to end his wait for an incomprehensible 25th Grand Slam, which last slipped away at the 2024 Wimbledon. Fresh off an Olympic gold last summer that cemented his legacy, Novak’s name sparks excitement with every draw. Yet, not everyone is betting on him this time around, as recently retired American ace Shelby Rogers boldly predicts he won’t reign supreme this year.

Novak Djokovic finds himself in a familiar spotlight but faces a tricky path at this year’s AO. His tournament starts against American wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy, followed by a likely second-round clash with either a qualifier or Russia’s world No. 99, Pavel Kotov. The challenges only go through the ceiling, with potential third-round matchups against either No. 26 seed Tomas Machac, or the towering Reilly Opelka, who outplayed him in Brisbane, or the fourth-round match-up against Czech talent Jiri Lehecka, or seasoned contender Grigor Dimitrov.

And, if he advances, Djokovic could face Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals, world No. 2 Alexander Zverev in the semis, and top seed Jannik Sinner in the final, a gauntlet requiring him to defeat the world’s top three players! This daunting draw has prompted cynicism from the retired American, who doubts Djokovic can add another Melbourne triumph to his legendary resume. 

During an episode of the ‘Tennis Channel Live Podcast’ aired today, Shelby Rogers gave her opinion on Novak Djokovic’s performance at the upcoming Australian Open. When asked about the Serbian GOAT’s prospects for another triumph in Melbourne, Rogers admitted, “I know that he has lot of success there at Australia but I don’t feel like this is the year that he’s gonna be. There’s so many other good players.”

She further added, “If somebody upsets him, I’m probably not going to be surprised. I get the feel that it’s not going to be Novak.” Novak’s 2024 ended with no Grand Slams but the one title he wanted: Olympic Gold. With a 37-9 season record and an impressive 80.4% win rate in tournaments, he was surpassed in consistency only by Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. However, it marked his first Slam-less season for Nole since 2017, on the back of his 27-1 dominance at majors in 2023.

Although Novak’s Wimbledon and Australian Open runs weren’t disastrous in 2024, Djokovic’s Slam campaign fell short. At the French Open, a meniscus injury shattered his hopes of a fourth Roland-Garros during the QF. Unanticipated losses which include losses against Luca Nardi at Indian Wells, Alexei Popyrin at the US Open, and Alejandro Tabilo at the Italian Open showcased a year of uncharacteristic stumbles for the Serbian. In the meantime, Sinner and Alcaraz have advanced significantly, solidifying their positions as frontrunners in the Grand Slam.

The king of Melbourne Park will be eyeing his 11th at the Venue in the upcoming slam despite not everyone backing him. However, a piece of recent news about Novak is terrifying! He claimed that he might have eaten ‘poisoned’ food during the 2022 AO saga.

“I was fed with some food that poisoned me” Djokovic opens up about his wild experience during AO 2022

How does it feel being treated in a rough manner despite being the GOAT? Well, ask Novak! Ahead of the upcoming AO, Novak recently opened up about one of his most harrowing experiences in Australia, reigniting conversations about the infamous 2022 saga. The GOAT’s reflection on that controversial episode has sparked fresh debates, with many acknowledging it unlikely as such an ordeal seemed for a player of his stature. 

The story unfolds at the 2022 AO when Novak had his visa canceled on the first try because of his invalid exemption to enter Australia while unvaccinated. Later, he encountered further opposition from the immigration minister Alex Hawke, who revoked his visa due to concerns that his unvaccinated status could disrupt social harmony. After being detained at the Park Hotel in Melbourne for five straight days, he left the country due to an unsuccessful appeal to the federal court for playing in the tournament. And, after 3 years of that incident, Novak opened up to talk about that incident and, of course, its aftermath.

“I have to be quite frank, The last couple of times I landed in Australia, to go through passport control and immigration – I had a bit of trauma from three years ago. And 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. I don’t hold any resentment, to be honest,” the 37-year-old earlier said. “I don’t hold a grudge. I came right away the year after … and I won,” the Serbian added while speaking to Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper this week.

However, he dropped a bombshell in the interview with GQ magazine when he said he was poisoned during his stay. “I realised that in that hotel in Melbourne I was fed with some food that poisoned me. 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, very high level of lead and mercury.” Djokovic said.

“Wild accusation. It’s possible … but very unlikely given how long he was locked up, while these meals were probably made in mass amounts and there haven’t been other reports as far as I know,” quoted Damian Maganja, a research fellow in food policy at the George Institute for Global Health. In addition, Dr Barbara Cardoso, a nutritional biochemist at Monash University, also added his remarks. “Australians had relatively low exposure to lead and mercury. Mercury can be present in food, but the food with the highest mercury concentration are fish and shellfish,” he added. 

Amid all the controversy, Djokovic will be looking to focus on the upcoming Australian Open, where he aims a record-breaking 25th Slam title. Are you backing the Serb to pull it off?