Italian Jannik Sinner, world number 1, surrendered to Spaniard Rafael Nadal, whom he considers "humanly incredible," as he said in an interview in which he insisted that his absence from the Davis Cup is only to have an extra week of rest and prepare for the next season in better condition.

“My first idol was Andreas Seppi. Then It became Roger Federer. After that, I met Rafa Nadal and said, 'He's an incredible person.' Then Nole, and I thought, 'What he does is incredible,'" he revealed in an interview with Sky Sports Italia. Sinner is already in Turin (northern Italy), where the ATP Finals begin on November 9, marking the start of his title defense, which he won in 2014. It will be his last tournament of the season, as he opted out of the Davis Cup, which he won in 2013 and 2014, to be in better physical shape for the start of the season, specifically the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season, where he is defending the maximum number of points. "At the end of the season, a week is a long time for us athletes. If you have an extra week of preparation, it's very important, especially for the start of the season, but also in the long term and for injury prevention," he said. “For me, this year there hasn't been the slightest doubt that this (not playing in the Davis Cup) was the right decision,” he added. Despite his absence, Sinner considers Italy one of the favorites to lift the Davis Cup: “They are an incredible team even without me, and I don't like anyone mentioning it… their chances of winning are high.” Furthermore, the tennis player reaffirmed his Italian identity: “I am proud to be Italian. I am very happy to have been born in Italy and not in Austria, or anywhere else. This country deserves much more, even more than what I am doing.” “Some say that Alto Adige (where he was born) is different… but Sicily is also completely different. That's our luck; our strength lies in our differences,” he concluded.

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