Italy Wins Record Third Straight Tennis Trophy Championship
Flavio Cobolli clinched the sixth-longest deciding set in Davis Cup history to defeat his Belgian opponent on Friday
The young Italian star alongside his compatriot propelled the Italian squad to Davis Cup success as the hosts defeated the Spanish team to claim a historic third successive title in front of an ecstatic home crowd
Two days after he narrowly won a marathon 32-point decider, the Italian talent once again shone as he battled back from a set and a break down to overcome Jaume Munar in three sets
The young player's gritty 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 success sealed a 2-0 triumph for his country in Bologna after Berrettini had triumphed 6-3 6-4 against the Spanish player
It is a fourth Davis Cup title overall for the Italian team, who are the first nation to achieve three straight championships since title holders stopped receiving direct entry to the final over five decades back
Local Supporters Fuels Team Italy Triumph
Supported passionately by the vast majority of a packed 10,000-strong crowd, Cobolli conquered a poor beginning to trigger scenes of celebration among the team players, coaches and fans
Cobolli was mobbed by his team-mates on court but paused for a brief time to praise his opponent on his efforts before returning to the celebrations
Key Players Deliver in Missing Stars
Each Italy and Spain made the championship match even with missing key players, with the non-participation of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner denying spectators a seventh meeting of the season between the top-ranked tennis stars
But, with Italian second-ranked another key player too missing, the Italian duo seized their moments in the limelight with three wins from three singles matches apiece during the tournament
Thrilling Recovery Seals Win
The audience chanted Cobolli's name as he kept his calm to serve out his recovery victory to zero, having achieved the breakthrough in the 11th game of a tense deciding set
That was no mean feat, given he had stated he had realized a "goal" in delivering his nation to the final on home soil
In opposition to the scenes of the previous match, when the athlete tore off his jersey in celebration on "one of the best" moments of his career, the world number 22 paid the consequence for a slow start as he lost a one-sided opening set
But the determined player initiated a essential, immediate response after going a behind at the beginning of the following set
The Italian's fortunes appeared to shift after a nine-minute pause in the match when a member of the crowd became ill
When the match continued, and with his opponent facing a critical moment, the player floated over a volley that caught a lucky net cord and brought the game to deuce
Although frustratingly denied four set points on his rival's service game, Cobolli wrested control of a decisive tie-break to force the decider - where he yet again delivered
The Veteran Continues Impressive Run
The Italian star had previously taken his team competition individual winning streak to eleven consecutive wins with an superb display against the Spanish opponent
The Grand Slam finalist converted his third break point for a advantage before assuredly closing the first set to love
Having won the majority of points to take the first set, Berrettini appeared ready to tighten his grip on the contest upon creating two break points in the initial game of the second
Carreno Busta managed to save each before putting together a sequence of strong serving performances - but the Italian seized his following chance and closed to love to complete his triumph