The Italian team Secures Record Three-Peat Davis Cup Title
Flavio Cobolli clinched one of the longest deciding set in Davis Cup records to defeat Belgium's Zizou Bergs during the semi-finals
Flavio Cobolli alongside his compatriot guided the Italian squad to team tennis glory as the home team defeated Spain to secure a historic three-peat title in front of an overjoyed local supporters
Two days following he edged an epic 32-point tie-break, the Italian talent once again shone as he recovered from a set and a break down to defeat his Spanish opponent in a grueling match
The young player's tenacious 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 win sealed a straight sets win for his country in Bologna after Berrettini had prevailed 6-3 6-4 against Pablo Carreno Busta
It is a fourth overall Davis Cup victory overall for the Italian team, who are the first nation to achieve three straight titles since defending champions no longer received automatic qualification to the final over five decades back
Local Supporters Inspires Team Italy Victory
Backed enthusiastically by the overwhelming number of a sell-out 10,000-strong audience, Cobolli overcame a slow start to trigger moments of celebration among the team players, coaches and supporters
The champion was mobbed by his teammates on court but took a brief time to praise his opponent on his efforts before returning to the celebrations
Key Players Step Up in Missing Stars
Each Italy and Spain made the final despite being without 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 missing, the Italian duo owned their opportunities in the spotlight with three wins from three singles matches apiece during the tournament
Dramatic Recovery Seals Victory
The audience shouted Cobolli's moniker as he kept his calm to close out his recovery triumph to zero, having forced the breakthrough in the 11th game of a nail-biting deciding set
That was no mean feat, given he had admitted he had achieved a "goal" in delivering his nation to the showpiece on domestic ground
In opposition to the events of the previous match, when Cobolli removed 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 opening set
But Cobolli launched a essential, immediate response after going a behind at the beginning of the following set
The Italian's luck appeared to shift after a brief stop in play when a member of the audience became unwell
When play continued, and with his opponent facing break point, the Italian lobbed over a shot that hit a lucky net tape and put the game back on level terms
Even though annoyingly prevented multiple opportunities on his rival's service game, the champion seized command of a decisive breaker to force the decider - where he once again delivered
Berrettini Extends Remarkable Winning Streak
Berrettini had earlier taken his team competition individual victory run to 11 matches with an superb performance against the Spanish opponent
The Grand Slam finalist used his decisive opportunity for a advantage before confidently closing the opener to zero
Having taken 11 of the last 13 points to take the opening set, Berrettini appeared ready to tighten his grip on the contest upon creating opportunities in the initial game of the second
Carreno Busta managed to save each before producing a series of solid service games - but the Italian seized his next opportunity and served out to zero to finish his victory