The Italian team Wins Record Three-Peat Davis Cup Championship
The Italian player won one of the longest deciding set in team tennis records to defeat Belgium's Zizou Bergs during the semi-finals
Flavio Cobolli alongside Matteo Berrettini propelled Italy to team tennis success as the home team overcame the Spanish team to claim a record-breaking three-peat championship in front of an ecstatic home crowd
Two days after he edged an epic 32-point tie-break, Cobolli returned to excelled as he battled back from behind in sets to defeat his Spanish opponent in a grueling match
The 23-year-old's gritty 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 success sealed a straight sets victory for his nation in Bologna after Berrettini had triumphed 6-3 6-4 against the Spanish player
It is a fourth overall Davis Cup title in total for the Italian team, who are the first nation to achieve three consecutive titles since defending champions stopped receiving automatic qualification to the final over five decades back
Local Supporters Fuels Italian Victory
Supported passionately by the overwhelming number of a sell-out 10,000-strong crowd, Cobolli conquered a slow start to trigger scenes of celebration among the Italian athletes, staff and supporters
The champion was mobbed by his team-mates on court but paused for a moment to commend Munar on his performance before rejoining the festivities
Key Players Deliver in Missing Stars
Each Italy and Spain reached the championship match even with being without star athletes, with the absence of top-ranked players preventing fans a seventh meeting of 2025 between the top-ranked men's players
But, with Italian number two another key player too absent, Cobolli and Berrettini owned their opportunities in the limelight with three wins from all their matches apiece during the tournament
Dramatic Recovery Seals Victory
The crowd chanted the player's name as he kept his calm to close out his recovery triumph to love, having achieved the breakthrough in the penultimate game of a nail-biting deciding set
That was no mean feat, given he had admitted he had realized a "dream" in delivering Italy to the final on domestic ground
In opposition to the events of the previous match, when the athlete tore off his jersey in jubilation on "among the greatest" moments of his career, the world number 22 faced the price for a slow start as he conceded a dominant first set
But the determined player launched a necessary, swift response after going a behind at the beginning of the second
Cobolli's luck seemed to shift after a brief pause in play when a member of the crowd became unwell
When play continued, and with Munar facing a critical moment, the Italian lobbed over a shot that hit a fortunate net cord and put the game back on level terms
Although frustratingly prevented four set points on his rival's service game, the champion seized control of a must-win breaker to push the decider - where he yet again delivered
Berrettini Continues Remarkable Winning Streak
Berrettini had previously taken his Davis Cup singles victory run to eleven consecutive wins with an excellent performance against Carreno Busta
The Grand Slam finalist converted his third break point for a advantage before confidently closing the first set to love
Having won the majority of points to secure the first set, Berrettini looked set to tighten his grip on the match upon creating opportunities in the opening game of the second
Carreno Busta succeeded to save both before producing a series of solid service games - but the Italian took his next opportunity and served out to love to finish his triumph
