Italy Wins Record Three-Peat Tennis Trophy Championship
Flavio Cobolli won the sixth-longest deciding set in Davis Cup records to defeat his Belgian opponent on Friday
The young Italian star alongside his compatriot propelled the Italian squad to team tennis glory as the hosts defeated Spain to secure a record-breaking three-peat championship in front of an overjoyed home crowd
48 hours after he edged a marathon lengthy tie-break, the Italian talent once again shone as he recovered from behind in sets to overcome Jaume Munar in a grueling match
The 23-year-old's gritty comeback victory triumph sealed a straight sets victory for his nation in the Italian city after Berrettini had won in straight sets against the Spanish player
It is a fourth Davis Cup title in total for the Italian team, who are the initial country to achieve three consecutive championships since defending champions stopped receiving automatic qualification to the final over five decades back
Local Supporters Inspires Team Italy Triumph
Backed passionately by the vast majority of a packed 10,000-strong audience, Cobolli overcame a slow start to spark scenes of jubilation among the team athletes, coaches and fans
Cobolli was mobbed by his teammates on court but took a moment to praise Munar on his efforts before returning to the festivities
Key Players Step Up in Absence
Both the Italian squad and Spain made the championship match despite missing key players, with the absence of top-ranked players preventing fans a seventh matchup of 2025 between the top-ranked tennis stars
But, with national number two another key player also missing, Cobolli and Berrettini seized their moments in the limelight with perfect records from all their matches apiece during the tournament
Dramatic Comeback Seals Win
The audience shouted Cobolli's moniker as he maintained his calm to serve out his recovery victory to love, having forced the decisive break in the penultimate game of a nail-biting final set
That was no mean feat, given he had stated he had achieved a "goal" in delivering Italy to Sunday's showpiece on domestic ground
In contrast to the scenes of the previous match, when Cobolli tore off his jersey in jubilation on "one of the best" days of his career, the ranked player faced the price for a poor beginning as he conceded a one-sided first set
But the determined player launched a essential, immediate response after going a behind at the beginning of the following set
The Italian's luck seemed to shift after a nine-minute pause in the match when a spectator of the crowd became unwell
When play resumed, and with his opponent down a critical moment, the Italian lobbed over a volley that hit a fortunate net cord and brought the set to deuce
Even though annoyingly denied four set points on his rival's serve, Cobolli wrested command of a must-win breaker to push the final set - where he once again delivered
The Veteran Continues Remarkable Run
Berrettini had previously extended his Davis Cup singles winning streak to 11 matches with an superb display against the Spanish opponent
The former Wimbledon runner-up converted his third break point for a advantage before assuredly closing the first set to zero
Having taken the majority of points to secure the opening set, the player looked set to tighten his grip on the match upon forcing opportunities in the opening game of the following set
His opponent succeeded to save both before putting together a series of strong service games - but Berrettini seized his following chance and served out to zero to finish his triumph
