The Italian team Clinches Historic Third Consecutive Davis Cup Championship
Flavio Cobolli clinched one of the longest tie-break in Davis Cup records to overcome his Belgian opponent during the semi-finals
Flavio Cobolli and his compatriot guided Italy to Davis Cup success as the hosts beat the Spanish team to capture a historic three-peat championship in front of an overjoyed home crowd
48 hours after he edged an epic 32-point decider, the Italian talent once again starred as he fought back from a set and a break down to beat Jaume Munar in a grueling match
The 23-year-old's tenacious comeback victory triumph secured a 2-0 victory for his nation in Bologna after his teammate had triumphed in straight sets against the Spanish player
It is a fourth overall team championship victory overall for the Italian team, who are the first nation to win three consecutive championships since title holders no longer received direct entry to the championship match 53 years ago
Local Supporters Inspires Team Italy Triumph
Supported enthusiastically by the overwhelming number of a sell-out 10,000-strong audience, the Italian star overcame a slow start to spark moments of celebration among the team athletes, staff and supporters
The champion was surrounded by his team-mates on the playing surface but paused for a brief time to commend his opponent on his performance before rejoining the celebrations
Key Players Step Up in Missing Stars
Each the Italian squad and the Spanish team reached the championship match despite missing key players, with the absence of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner denying spectators a seventh meeting of the season between the top-ranked men's players
But, with national number two another key player too absent, Cobolli and Berrettini seized their moments in the spotlight with three wins from all their matches each this week
Dramatic Recovery Seals Win
The audience chanted Cobolli's moniker as he maintained his composure to close out his recovery victory to zero, having forced the breakthrough in the penultimate game of a tense deciding set
That was no mean feat, given he had admitted he had realized a "dream" in delivering Italy to the showpiece on domestic ground
In contrast to the events of the previous match, when Cobolli tore off his jersey in jubilation on "among the greatest" moments of his career, the ranked player paid the consequence for a poor beginning as he lost a one-sided first set
But Cobolli initiated a necessary, immediate comeback after going a behind at the start of the second
Cobolli's luck appeared to change after a brief stop in the match when a member of the audience became ill
When the match resumed, and with his opponent facing a critical moment, the Italian lobbed over a volley that caught a fortunate net tape and brought the set to deuce
Although frustratingly prevented four set points on his opponent's serve, Cobolli seized control of a must-win tie-break to force the final set - where he yet again delivered
The Veteran Continues Remarkable Run
The Italian star had previously taken his team competition individual winning streak to eleven consecutive wins with an excellent performance against Carreno Busta
The former Wimbledon runner-up used his decisive opportunity for a advantage before confidently closing the first set to love
Having won the majority of points to secure the first set, Berrettini looked set to strengthen his hold on the match upon creating two break points in the opening game of the following set
Carreno Busta managed to save both before putting together a series of strong serving performances - but Berrettini took his following chance and closed to zero to finish his triumph