The Italian team Wins Record Third Straight Tennis Trophy Title
Flavio Cobolli clinched the sixth-longest deciding set in team tennis history to overcome Belgium's Zizou Bergs during the semi-finals
Flavio Cobolli alongside his compatriot guided Italy to team tennis success as the hosts overcame the Spanish team to secure a historic third consecutive championship in front of an overjoyed home crowd
48 hours following he narrowly won an epic lengthy tie-break, the Italian talent returned to starred as he fought back from a set and a break down to beat his Spanish opponent in a grueling match
The 23-year-old's tenacious 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 win sealed a straight sets triumph for his nation in Bologna after his teammate had won in straight sets against the Spanish player
It is a fourth Davis Cup victory overall for the Italian team, who are the initial country to achieve three consecutive championships since title holders no longer received automatic qualification to the final 53 years ago
Home Crowd Fuels Team Italy Triumph
Backed enthusiastically by the overwhelming number of a sell-out 10,000-strong audience, the Italian star conquered a poor beginning to trigger moments of jubilation among the team athletes, coaches and fans
Cobolli was mobbed by his team-mates on the playing surface but took a brief time to praise his opponent on his performance before rejoining the celebrations
Star Performers Step Up in Absence
Each Italy and the Spanish team reached the final despite being without key players, with the non-participation of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner preventing spectators a seventh meeting of the season between the world's dominant men's players
But, with national number two Lorenzo Musetti too missing, the Italian duo seized their opportunities in the limelight with three wins from all their matches apiece this week
Dramatic Recovery Secures Win
The crowd chanted the player's moniker as he maintained his composure to close out his comeback triumph to love, having achieved the breakthrough in the penultimate game of a nail-biting deciding set
That was quite an accomplishment, given he had stated he had realized a "goal" in delivering his nation to the final on domestic ground
In contrast to the scenes of the previous match, when the athlete tore off his jersey in celebration on "one of the best" days of his life, the ranked player paid the price for a poor beginning as he conceded a dominant opening set
But Cobolli initiated a essential, immediate comeback after going 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 member of the crowd became unwell
When play continued, and with Munar down break point, the Italian lobbed over a shot that hit a fortunate net tape and brought the game to deuce
Although frustratingly prevented multiple opportunities on his rival's serve, the champion seized control of a must-win breaker to push the final set - where he once again performed
The Veteran Continues Remarkable Winning Streak
The Italian star had previously extended his Davis Cup individual victory run to 11 matches with an excellent display against the Spanish opponent
The Grand Slam finalist converted his decisive opportunity for a advantage before assuredly serving out the first set to love
Having won the majority of points to secure the first set, the player appeared ready to tighten his grip on the match upon creating two break points in the opening game of the second
His opponent succeeded to save both before putting together a series of strong serving performances - but the Italian seized his next opportunity and closed to zero to complete his victory