The Italian team Secures Record Third Consecutive Davis Cup Championship
The Italian player won the sixth-longest tie-break in Davis Cup history to beat his Belgian opponent during the semi-finals
The young Italian star and his compatriot propelled the Italian squad to team tennis success as the home team overcame the Spanish team to capture a record-breaking three-peat championship in front of an overjoyed home crowd
48 hours after he narrowly won a marathon lengthy tie-break, Cobolli once again excelled as he recovered from behind in sets to defeat Jaume Munar in three sets
The young player's gritty comeback victory success clinched a straight sets triumph for his country in Bologna after his teammate had triumphed in straight sets against the Spanish player
It is a fourth overall team championship victory in total for the Italian team, who are the initial country to achieve three consecutive championships since title holders stopped receiving automatic qualification to the championship match 53 years ago
Local Supporters Inspires Italian Triumph
Backed enthusiastically by the overwhelming number of a packed capacity audience, the Italian star conquered a slow start to spark moments of celebration among the team players, staff and supporters
The champion was mobbed by his team-mates on the playing surface but paused for a moment to praise his opponent on his performance before rejoining the celebrations
Star Performers Step Up in Absence
Both the Italian squad and Spain reached the championship match even with missing star athletes, with the non-participation of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner denying spectators a seventh meeting of 2025 between the world's dominant men's players
But, with national second-ranked Lorenzo Musetti too missing, Cobolli and Berrettini seized their moments in the limelight with perfect records from all their matches each during the tournament
Thrilling Comeback Secures Victory
The crowd chanted Cobolli's name as he maintained his calm to serve out his recovery victory to zero, having achieved the breakthrough in the penultimate game of a nail-biting final set
That was no mean feat, given he had stated he had achieved a "goal" in delivering Italy to Sunday's showpiece on home soil
In contrast to the scenes of Friday night, when the athlete tore off his jersey in jubilation on "among the greatest" days of his career, the ranked player paid the price for a poor beginning as he conceded a dominant first set
But the determined player initiated a necessary, swift response after going a break down at the start of the second
Cobolli's fortunes seemed to shift after a brief pause in the match when a member of the audience became ill
When the match resumed, and with Munar down a critical moment, the player lobbed over a shot that hit a fortunate net cord and brought the set to deuce
Although annoyingly prevented four set points on his opponent's serve, the champion wrested command of a decisive tie-break to push the final set - where he once again delivered
The Veteran Extends Remarkable Run
The Italian star had previously extended his Davis Cup singles winning streak to 11 matches with an superb display against Carreno Busta
The Grand Slam finalist used his decisive opportunity for a advantage before assuredly closing the opener to love
Having won 11 of the last 13 points to take the first set, the player looked set to strengthen his grip on the contest upon creating opportunities in the opening game of the following set
His opponent managed to save both before putting together a sequence of solid service games - but the Italian seized his next opportunity and served out to zero to finish his victory