Italy Wins Record Three-Peat Davis Cup Title
The Italian player secured the sixth-longest deciding set in team tennis records to defeat Belgium's Zizou Bergs on Friday
Flavio Cobolli alongside Matteo Berrettini led Italy to Davis Cup victory as the hosts defeated Spain to claim a record-breaking three-peat title in front of an overjoyed home crowd
48 hours following he narrowly won an epic lengthy decider, Cobolli once again excelled as he battled back from behind in sets to overcome Jaume Munar in a grueling match
The young player's gritty comeback victory triumph clinched a 2-0 win for his country in Bologna after his teammate had prevailed 6-3 6-4 against Pablo Carreno Busta
It is a fourth team championship victory overall for the Italian team, who are the first nation to win three consecutive titles since title holders stopped receiving automatic qualification to the final 53 years ago
Home Crowd Fuels Team Italy Triumph
Backed passionately by the overwhelming number of a sell-out capacity crowd, Cobolli conquered a slow start to spark scenes of jubilation among the Italian athletes, coaches and supporters
Cobolli was mobbed by his teammates on court but took a moment to praise his opponent on his performance before returning to the festivities
Key Players Step Up in Absence
Both Italy and the Spanish team reached the final even with missing key players, with the absence of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner denying spectators a seventh meeting of 2025 between the top-ranked men's players
But, with national number two another key player too missing, Cobolli and Berrettini owned their opportunities in the limelight with three wins from all their matches apiece this week
Dramatic Recovery Seals Victory
The audience chanted the player's name as he maintained his calm to serve out his recovery victory to love, having forced the decisive break in the penultimate game of a tense final set
That was quite an accomplishment, given he had stated he had realized a "dream" in guiding his nation to the showpiece on home soil
In contrast to the scenes of Friday night, when Cobolli removed his shirt in celebration on "one of the best" days of his life, the world number 22 faced the consequence for a slow start as he lost a dominant first set
But Cobolli launched a essential, swift response after falling a break down at the beginning of the following set
Cobolli's fortunes seemed to change after a nine-minute pause in the match when a spectator of the crowd became ill
When the match continued, and with his opponent facing a critical moment, the Italian floated over a volley that hit a lucky net tape and put the set to deuce
Even though frustratingly denied four set points on his rival's serve, Cobolli wrested control of a must-win breaker to push the final set - where he once again delivered
Berrettini Extends Remarkable Winning Streak
The Italian star had previously extended his Davis Cup individual winning streak to 11 matches with an excellent performance against the Spanish opponent
The former Wimbledon runner-up used his decisive opportunity for a 5-3 lead before assuredly closing the first set to love
Having won 11 of the last 13 points to take the first set, Berrettini appeared ready to tighten his hold on the match upon forcing opportunities in the initial game of the following set
His opponent succeeded to survive each before putting together a series of solid service games - but Berrettini took his next opportunity and closed to zero to finish his triumph