The Italian team Wins Historic Third Straight Tennis Trophy Title
Flavio Cobolli won one of the longest deciding set in Davis Cup history to beat his Belgian opponent on Friday
Flavio Cobolli alongside Matteo Berrettini led the Italian squad to team tennis glory as the home team defeated the Spanish team to secure a record-breaking third successive championship in front of an overjoyed home crowd
Two days following he narrowly won an epic 32-point tie-break, the Italian talent once again excelled as he recovered from a set and a break down to defeat Jaume Munar in three sets
The 23-year-old's tenacious 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 triumph secured a 2-0 triumph for his country in Bologna after Berrettini had prevailed in straight sets against Pablo Carreno Busta
It is a fourth team championship title overall for the Italian team, who are the first nation to win three straight championships since title holders no longer received direct entry to the championship match 53 years ago
Home Crowd Inspires Team Italy Victory
Supported passionately by the overwhelming number of a sell-out 10,000-strong crowd, Cobolli overcame a slow start to spark moments of jubilation among the team athletes, coaches and supporters
The champion was surrounded by his teammates on the playing surface but paused for a moment to commend Munar on his performance before rejoining the festivities
Key Players Step Up in Missing Stars
Each the Italian squad and Spain made the championship match even with being without key players, with the absence of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner preventing spectators a seventh matchup of the season between the world's dominant men's players
But, with Italian number two another key player also absent, the Italian duo owned their moments in the spotlight with three wins from all their matches apiece this week
Thrilling Comeback Seals Win
The crowd chanted the player's moniker as he kept his composure to serve out his comeback triumph to zero, having forced the decisive break in the penultimate game of a nail-biting final set
That was quite an accomplishment, given he had stated he had realized a "dream" in guiding his nation to Sunday's showpiece on home soil
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 paid the price for a slow start as he conceded a one-sided first set
But Cobolli launched a essential, swift comeback after going a behind at the start of the second
Cobolli's luck seemed to change after a brief stop in play when a member of the audience became ill
When play continued, and with his opponent down a critical moment, the player floated over a shot that caught a fortunate net tape and brought the set back on level terms
Although annoyingly denied multiple opportunities on his rival's service game, the champion seized control of a must-win breaker to push the decider - where he once again performed
The Veteran Extends Remarkable Run
The Italian star had previously taken his team competition individual victory run to eleven consecutive wins with an excellent display against Carreno Busta
The Grand Slam finalist used his decisive opportunity for a 5-3 lead before confidently serving out the first set to love
Having won 11 of the last 13 points to secure the first set, the player appeared ready to tighten his grip on the match upon forcing two break points in the initial game of the following set
Carreno Busta succeeded to save both before putting together a series of solid serving performances - but Berrettini seized his next opportunity and served out to zero to complete his triumph