Santangelo impressed by Sinner: "He's special, very mature with incredible potential".

Jannik Sinner steps up his preparation. The world number 1, coming off an exceptional season, will be under pressure from the start of the coming year.

The Italian is the defending champion of the Australian Open and will have to defend his 2,000 ranking points.

Present in Dubai over the last few days to conclude his pre-season, Sinner was able to work with Mara Santangelo.

The former professional player, who was Davis Cup winner in 2006 and ranked 27th in the world in 2007, lives and works in the United Arab Emirates and was able to observe the 23-year-old's training sessions.

For Il Corriere Dello Sport, Santangelo, 43, spoke of Sinner: "I've lived moments on and off the court with him and I've discovered how special he is, very mature with incredible potential.

I'd never seen him train so closely, it's incredible to see how hard he works and how attentive he is to everything that happens off the pitch, it's the little things that make the difference.

He's excited about winning the title again in Australia, he and his team are doing a great job.

I've noticed that every day his training is different, it changes every time.

There's also a lot of physical work, as he has a little time before his return to competition. He needs to build up his physical base," she explained.