Italy Wins Historic Third Consecutive Davis Cup Championship
The Italian player secured the sixth-longest deciding set in team tennis history to defeat his Belgian opponent on Friday
Flavio Cobolli alongside his compatriot propelled Italy to team tennis success as the hosts overcame the Spanish team to claim a record-breaking three-peat title in front of an overjoyed local supporters
Two days following he edged a marathon lengthy tie-break, Cobolli once again shone as he fought back from behind in sets to defeat his Spanish opponent in three sets
The young player's gritty comeback victory triumph sealed a straight sets triumph for his country in Bologna after his teammate had won in straight sets against the Spanish player
It is a fourth overall Davis Cup victory overall for the Italian team, who are the first nation to win three straight championships since title holders stopped receiving automatic qualification to the final 53 years ago
Local Supporters Fuels Italian Victory
Backed enthusiastically by the overwhelming number of a sell-out capacity audience, Cobolli conquered a slow start to trigger scenes of jubilation among the team athletes, staff and supporters
The champion was surrounded by his team-mates on the playing surface but took a moment to commend his opponent on his performance before returning to the celebrations
Star Performers Step Up in Missing Stars
Both the Italian squad and Spain reached the final even with being without star athletes, with the non-participation of top-ranked players preventing spectators a seventh matchup of 2025 between the top-ranked tennis stars
But, with Italian number two another key player too missing, the Italian duo owned their opportunities in the spotlight with three wins from all their matches apiece this week
Dramatic Comeback Secures Win
The crowd shouted the player's moniker as he kept his calm to serve out his recovery victory to zero, having forced the decisive break in the penultimate game of a tense final set
That was no mean feat, given he had admitted he had achieved a "goal" in guiding his nation to the final on domestic ground
In contrast to the scenes of the previous match, when the athlete tore off his jersey in celebration on "among the greatest" moments of his life, the ranked player faced the price for a poor beginning as he conceded a dominant first set
But the determined player initiated a essential, immediate response after going a break down at the beginning of the following set
The Italian's fortunes seemed to change after a nine-minute stop in the match when a spectator of the crowd became unwell
When the match continued, and with Munar facing break point, the Italian floated over a shot that caught a fortunate net tape and brought the game to deuce
Although annoyingly prevented multiple opportunities on his opponent's serve, Cobolli seized command of a must-win breaker to force the decider - where he yet again delivered
The Veteran Continues Remarkable Run
The Italian star had earlier taken his team competition singles winning streak to eleven consecutive wins with an excellent display against the Spanish opponent
The Grand Slam finalist used his decisive opportunity for a 5-3 lead before assuredly closing the opener to love
Having won the majority of points to take the first set, the player looked set to tighten his grip on the match upon creating opportunities in the initial game of the following set
His opponent managed to save both before producing a series of solid service games - but Berrettini seized his next opportunity and closed to zero to finish his triumph