The Italian team Wins Record Third Consecutive Tennis Trophy Title
The Italian player won one of the longest tie-break in Davis Cup records to overcome Belgium's Zizou Bergs on Friday
Flavio Cobolli alongside his compatriot propelled Italy to team tennis glory as the hosts beat Spain to capture a historic three-peat championship in front of an overjoyed home crowd
Two days after he edged an epic 32-point tie-break, the Italian talent once again shone as he fought back from behind in sets to beat his Spanish opponent in three sets
The 23-year-old's gritty 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 win sealed a straight sets victory for his country in Bologna after his teammate had prevailed 6-3 6-4 against the Spanish player
It is a fourth overall Davis Cup victory overall for Italy, who are the initial country to win three consecutive championships since defending champions no longer received automatic qualification to the championship match over five decades back
Local Supporters Fuels Italian Triumph
Backed enthusiastically by the vast majority of a sell-out 10,000-strong crowd, the Italian star conquered a poor beginning to spark scenes of jubilation among the Italian players, staff and supporters
The champion was surrounded by his team-mates on court but paused for a brief time to praise his opponent on his efforts before returning to the celebrations
Star Performers Step Up in Absence
Each the Italian squad and Spain reached the championship match even with being without key players, with the absence of top-ranked players denying spectators a seventh meeting of 2025 between the top-ranked tennis stars
But, with national number two Lorenzo Musetti also absent, Cobolli and Berrettini owned their moments in the spotlight with three wins from all their matches each during the tournament
Thrilling Comeback Secures Win
The crowd shouted the player's moniker as he kept his composure to serve out his recovery victory to love, having forced the decisive break in the 11th game of a tense final set
That was no mean feat, given he had admitted he had achieved a "dream" in delivering Italy to the final on domestic ground
In contrast to the scenes of the previous match, when Cobolli removed his jersey in celebration on "among the greatest" moments of his career, the ranked player faced the price for a slow start as he conceded a dominant opening set
But Cobolli initiated a necessary, immediate comeback after falling a break down at the beginning of the following set
Cobolli's luck seemed to shift after a nine-minute stop in the match when a spectator of the audience became ill
When the match resumed, and with Munar facing break point, the Italian floated over a shot that caught a fortunate net cord and put the game back on level terms
Although frustratingly denied multiple opportunities on his rival's serve, the champion wrested control of a decisive breaker to push the decider - where he yet again performed
Berrettini Extends Impressive Run
Berrettini had earlier taken his team competition singles winning streak to eleven consecutive wins with an superb performance against the Spanish opponent
The former Wimbledon runner-up converted his decisive opportunity for a 5-3 lead before confidently serving out the opener to zero
Having won the majority of points to take the opening set, Berrettini appeared ready to tighten his grip on the contest upon forcing opportunities in the initial game of the second
Carreno Busta succeeded to survive both before putting together a series of strong serving performances - but Berrettini took his next opportunity and served out to zero to finish his triumph