Novak Djokovic takes aim at ‘humiliating’ Australian treatment after losing world No.1 crown to Daniil Medvedev

Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic has revealed he’s still struggling to come to terms with the way he was ‘humiliated’ in Australia during his dramatic vaccination stand-off with the federal government in January.

The Serbian star’s comments have come to light after a shock loss to Jiri Vesely in the Dubai Tennis Championships that will see him lose his world No. 1 mantle to Daniil Medvedev in the coming days.

Djokovic spoke out against his treatment in a lengthy interview with Serbian TV, after declaring his dissatisfaction with the way his recent discussion with the BBC was presented.

“A very ugly image of me was created (in Australia),” Djokovic told Serbian show SportKlub.

“They humiliated me, if I may say so, on a world level. That is why it is important that I always have the opportunity to say something.

“If someone wants to ask me something, I will answer, I will repeat my answers because I have nothing else to add except what I said for the BBC.”

The 34-year-old suggested he endured much more than the public knew about ahead of his deportation by the Australian government, saying: “I can’t erase what happened from my memory. Everything is so fresh.

“There were other things that shook me that I can’t forget.”

However he insisted he wasn’t willing to run away from any questions about his personal decisions.

“What you will certainly not hear or see from me is to run away from responsibility and the desire to answer someone’s question,” Djokovic said.

“I don’t hide anything, I haven’t run away from any questions.”

The 20-time grand slam champion went on to say he was treated differently to others in his same position ahead of this year’s Australian Open, while repeating his claim that he did absolutely nothing wrong,