Novak Djokovic cut short a practice session after just 12 minutes because of a neck problem on Wednesday, casting fresh concerns about his preparations for the Australian Open. The first Grand Slam of 2026 gets underway in only four days’ time and the 24-time major champion is in Melbourne to get conditioned after having withdrawn from the Adelaide International earlier this month. He did so because he was “not quite physically ready to compete” and now has not played competitively since winning the Hellenic Championship in Greece on November 8.

On Wednesday, Djokovic spent time hitting with Daniil Medvedev on Rod Laver Arena and lost his practice set 7-5 against the Russian, although the pair did not play at full intensity. He later took to Court 10 for a second batch of training at 5pm. But the Serb’s session lasted just 12 minutes after he required treatment on the back of his neck from his trainer. After finding it difficult to serve, world No.4 Djokovic was seen to by his physiotherapist Miljan Amanovic who massaged the back of his neck for several minutes. The session did not resume.

Off the back of his withdrawal from the ATP 250 event in Adelaide, Djokovic’s struggles spark doubts about his ability to compete in the two-week Slam. The 38-year-old appeared short of sharpness during a training session with Jiri Lehecka on Tuesday.

Djokovic is scheduled to face Frances Tiafoe in an exhibition match on Rod Laver Arena on Thursday at 5pm local time (6am UK time). Before then, he will learn his route to a potential record-breaking 25th Grand Slam triumph. The men’s draw will be conducted at 2.30pm local time on Thursday (3.30am UK time).

Djokovic faces having to overcome top seeds Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner to reign in Melbourne for an 11th time. The former world No.1’s 2025 saw him lose in the semi-finals of all four Grand Slams.

He was beaten by Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open, Sinner at the French Open and Alcaraz at Wimbledon. All three finished as the runners-up of each respective Slam. Djokovic also lost to Alcaraz in the last four of the US Open before the Spaniard defeated his rival Sinner in the final.

Ex-Wimbledon winner Pat Cash believes that Djokovic needs Alcaraz and Sinner to suffer upsets if he is to win his first Slam since the 2023 US Open this month. “He needs a couple of them to fall over, that’s the reality. I’m really looking forward to seeing how he does,” the Australian said to Tennis365.

“Towards the end of your career, it’s crucial to find that perfect balance of training hard enough to withstand two, even three, five-set matches but not overdoing it. Train enough to endure, train hard enough not to get injured.

“You need to conserve enough energy to not burn yourself out and then not train too much to get injured before playing. When you’re younger, you can keep pushing, and even if you get tired, if you play a five-set match, you know you can recover quickly. As you progress in your career, that just fades away.

“For Novak to keep going is absolutely phenomenal. He’s always finding solutions to the problems, so it will be very interesting to see how he fares at the Australian Open. Has he played enough matches? Has he trained enough? Is he saving his physicality only for the matches? And if so, will it work?

“I don’t see him beating Alcaraz and Sinner in consecutive five-set matches, and that is his problem. He might reach the semi-finals again, but then he is likely to have a problem that is already familiar to him.”