The Italian team Secures Record Third Straight Davis Cup Championship
Flavio Cobolli won the sixth-longest tie-break in team tennis records to defeat his Belgian opponent during the semi-finals
The young Italian star and Matteo Berrettini led the Italian squad to Davis Cup glory as the hosts overcame Spain to capture a historic third consecutive championship in front of an jubilant local supporters
Two days after he narrowly won an epic 32-point tie-break, Cobolli once again starred as he recovered from a set and a break down to beat Jaume Munar in a grueling match
The young player's determined comeback victory success secured a straight sets victory for his nation in Bologna after his teammate had prevailed in straight sets against the Spanish player
It is a fourth team championship victory in total for the Italian team, who are the initial country to win three consecutive championships since title holders stopped receiving direct entry to the final over five decades back
Local Supporters Inspires Italian Triumph
Supported passionately by the overwhelming number of a packed 10,000-strong crowd, the Italian star overcame a slow start to trigger moments of celebration among the Italian players, coaches and supporters
Cobolli was mobbed by his teammates on the playing surface but paused for a moment to commend his opponent on his efforts before rejoining the festivities
Star Performers Step Up in Missing Stars
Each the Italian squad and Spain reached the final despite being without key players, with the non-participation of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner denying spectators a seventh matchup of the season between the top-ranked tennis stars
But, with Italian second-ranked Lorenzo Musetti too absent, Cobolli and Berrettini owned their opportunities in the limelight with three wins from three singles matches each this week
Dramatic Comeback Secures Victory
The crowd chanted Cobolli's moniker as he kept his composure to serve out his recovery victory to love, having achieved the breakthrough in the penultimate game of a nail-biting deciding set
That was no mean feat, given he had stated he had achieved a "dream" in delivering his nation to the final on domestic ground
In contrast to the events of Friday night, when the athlete tore off his jersey in celebration on "among the greatest" moments of his career, the world number 22 paid the consequence for a poor beginning as he lost a one-sided first set
But Cobolli launched a necessary, immediate comeback after going a behind at the start of the following set
Cobolli's luck appeared to change after a nine-minute pause in the match when a spectator of the audience became ill
When the match resumed, and with his opponent facing break point, the player floated over a shot that hit a fortunate net tape and brought the set to deuce
Although frustratingly denied multiple opportunities on his rival's service game, Cobolli seized command of a decisive tie-break to push the decider - where he yet again performed
Berrettini Continues Impressive Run
The Italian star had previously extended his team competition individual winning streak to eleven consecutive wins with an superb performance against the Spanish opponent
The Grand Slam finalist used his decisive opportunity for a 5-3 lead before assuredly serving out the opener to love
Having won the majority of points to take the first set, the player looked set to strengthen his hold on the match upon forcing opportunities in the initial game of the following set
Carreno Busta managed to survive both before producing a sequence of solid service games - but the Italian took his next opportunity and closed to zero to finish his triumph