The Italian team Clinches Historic Three-Peat Tennis Trophy Title
The Italian player clinched the sixth-longest tie-break in Davis Cup records to overcome Belgium's Zizou Bergs on Friday
Flavio Cobolli alongside his compatriot led Italy to Davis Cup success as the hosts overcame Spain to capture a record-breaking three-peat championship in front of an overjoyed local supporters
Two days following he narrowly won a marathon 32-point tie-break, the Italian talent returned to shone as he fought back from a set and a break down to beat Jaume Munar in a grueling match
The 23-year-old's determined 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 success clinched a 2-0 triumph for his country in Bologna after Berrettini had won in straight sets against the Spanish player
It is a fourth Davis Cup title overall for the Italian team, who are the first nation to win three straight championships since title holders no longer received automatic qualification to the championship match 53 years ago
Local Supporters Inspires Italian Victory
Supported passionately by the overwhelming number of a sell-out 10,000-strong audience, Cobolli overcame a slow start to spark moments of celebration among the team athletes, staff and supporters
The champion was surrounded by his teammates on court but paused for a moment to commend his opponent on his performance before returning to the festivities
Key Players Deliver in Absence
Both the Italian squad and Spain made the final even with being without key players, with the absence of top-ranked players preventing spectators a seventh matchup of the season between the top-ranked men's players
But, with Italian second-ranked Lorenzo Musetti also missing, the Italian duo seized their opportunities in the limelight with three wins from all their matches apiece this week
Thrilling Comeback Secures Victory
The audience chanted the player's name as he kept his calm to serve out his recovery triumph to love, having achieved the breakthrough in the 11th game of a nail-biting deciding set
That was no mean feat, given he had admitted he had realized a "dream" in guiding Italy to the final on domestic ground
In opposition to the events of the previous match, when Cobolli tore off his jersey in jubilation on "one of the best" moments of his life, the world number 22 paid the consequence for a poor beginning as he conceded a one-sided first set
But the determined player launched a essential, swift response after falling a break down at the start of the second
Cobolli's fortunes appeared to shift after a nine-minute pause in play when a spectator of the audience became unwell
When play resumed, and with Munar facing break point, the Italian lobbed over a shot that hit a fortunate net cord and put the game back on level terms
Even though annoyingly denied four set points on his opponent's service game, the champion seized control of a must-win breaker to force the final set - where he yet again delivered
Berrettini Extends Remarkable Run
Berrettini had previously extended his team competition individual winning streak to eleven consecutive wins with an superb display against Carreno Busta
The former Wimbledon runner-up converted his decisive opportunity for a advantage before confidently closing the opener to zero
Having taken 11 of the last 13 points to secure the opening set, Berrettini looked set to tighten his grip on the contest upon forcing opportunities in the initial game of the second
Carreno Busta managed to save each before producing a series of strong serving performances - but Berrettini took his following chance and served out to love to complete his triumph