Will Novak Djokovic play at the Australian Open? Updates ahead of 2024 tennis tournament

The relationship between Novak Djokovic and the Australian Open is special.

With 10 Australian Open titles to his name, the Serbian is at his best when he is at Melbourne Park.

But Australia has also been the scene of one of Djokovic's biggest controversies after the world no.1 was deported in 2022.

The Sporting News has all the latest on whether the legend will be playing at the Australian Open in 2024.

MORE: Davis Cup 2023: Australia to meet Italy in final after Jannik Sinner stuns Novak Djokovic's Serbia

Will Novak Djokovic play at the Australian Open in 2024?

Novak Djokovic is currently on course to be playing at the Australian Open in 2024.

It appears only an unfortunate injury could derail the Serbian's shot at an 11th title at Melbourne Park.

Most recently, Djokovic has been competing for Serbia in the Davis Cup finals, where his nation went down to Italy in the semis in late November.

In that tie, Djokovic had three match points against Jannik Sinner to send Serbia through to the final, but squandered them before the Italian fought back to win.

Since making his first appearance in Melbourne in 2005, Djokovic has only missed the Australian Open once - when he was deported for breaching Australia's vaccination laws in 2022.

Novak Djokovic in 2023

It's been an extraordinary 2023 for Djokovic with the Serbian star winning three grand slam titles at the Australian Open, French Open and US Open.

His only defeat at a major this year was when he was defeated in the Wimbledon final by Carlos Alcaraz across five sets.

It's the fourth year of his career that Djokovic has won three grand slam titles, with the calendar year Grand Slam just managing to elude him.

Djokovic also won the year-ending ATP Finals for the seventh time, with victory against Sinner in the final despite losing to the Italian in the round-robin stage.

The Serbian will finish 2023 at the world no.1 - an honour he has achieved a record eight times in his career.

When is Australian Open 2024?

Australian Open 2024 will commence on Sunday, January 14 and become a 15-day event for the first time, finishing on Sunday, January 28.