The Italian team Secures Historic Three-Peat Tennis Trophy Title
Flavio Cobolli secured one of the longest tie-break in team tennis records to overcome Belgium's Zizou Bergs on Friday
Flavio Cobolli and Matteo Berrettini propelled Italy to team tennis victory as the hosts beat the Spanish team to capture a record-breaking third successive championship in front of an jubilant local supporters
Two days following he edged a marathon lengthy decider, the Italian talent returned to starred as he fought back from behind in sets to defeat Jaume Munar in a grueling match
The 23-year-old's tenacious 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 triumph secured a 2-0 victory for his nation in the Italian city after his teammate had triumphed in straight sets against the Spanish player
It is a fourth Davis Cup victory overall for Italy, who are the first nation to achieve three straight titles since title holders no longer received direct entry to the championship match 53 years ago
Local Supporters Inspires Italian Triumph
Backed enthusiastically by the vast majority of a packed 10,000-strong audience, the Italian star overcame a slow start to trigger scenes of jubilation among the team athletes, coaches and supporters
Cobolli was mobbed by his team-mates on the playing surface but took a moment to praise his opponent on his efforts before returning to the celebrations
Star Performers Deliver in Missing Stars
Each Italy and the Spanish team made the final even with missing star athletes, with the absence of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner preventing fans a seventh meeting of 2025 between the world's dominant men's players
But, with national second-ranked another key player also missing, the Italian duo seized their opportunities in the spotlight with perfect records from three singles matches apiece during the tournament
Dramatic Recovery Secures Victory
The crowd chanted the player's name as he maintained his composure to close out his comeback victory to love, having achieved the decisive break in the penultimate game of a tense final set
That was no mean feat, given he had admitted he had realized a "goal" in guiding his nation to the final on home soil
In opposition to the events of Friday night, when Cobolli tore off his shirt in jubilation on "among the greatest" moments of his career, the world number 22 faced the consequence for a poor beginning as he lost a dominant first set
But the determined player launched a necessary, immediate comeback after falling a behind at the beginning of the second
Cobolli's luck appeared to shift after a brief stop in play when a spectator of the crowd became ill
When the match continued, and with his opponent facing a critical moment, the Italian lobbed over a volley that hit a lucky net cord and brought the game back on level terms
Even though frustratingly denied multiple opportunities on his rival's serve, Cobolli seized command of a must-win breaker to push the final set - where he once again performed
The Veteran Extends Remarkable Winning Streak
Berrettini had previously taken his Davis Cup individual victory run to 11 matches with an excellent performance against Carreno Busta
The former Wimbledon runner-up converted his third break point for a advantage before confidently serving out the opener to love
Having won the majority of points to take the opening set, the player appeared ready to strengthen his hold on the match upon forcing two break points in the opening game of the following set
Carreno Busta succeeded to save each before putting together a sequence of strong serving performances - but Berrettini seized his following chance and closed to zero to finish his triumph