Italy Secures Historic Third Consecutive Tennis Trophy Championship
The Italian player won one of the longest deciding set in Davis Cup records to overcome Belgium's Zizou Bergs during the semi-finals
The young Italian star and his compatriot guided Italy to team tennis glory as the hosts defeated the Spanish team to capture a historic third successive championship in front of an overjoyed home crowd
48 hours after he narrowly won an epic lengthy decider, Cobolli once again shone as he fought back from behind in sets to overcome Jaume Munar in a grueling match
The 23-year-old's tenacious 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 triumph clinched a 2-0 triumph for his country in Bologna after Berrettini had prevailed in straight sets against the Spanish player
It is a fourth overall Davis Cup title in total for the Italian team, who are the initial country to achieve three consecutive championships since defending champions stopped receiving direct entry to the final over five decades back
Local Supporters Fuels Italian Victory
Supported enthusiastically by the overwhelming number of a sell-out 10,000-strong audience, Cobolli conquered a slow start to spark scenes of jubilation among the Italian players, staff and supporters
The champion was surrounded by his teammates on court but took a brief time to praise Munar on his performance before returning to the celebrations
Star Performers Deliver in Absence
Both Italy and Spain reached the final despite being without key players, with the absence of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner denying spectators a seventh matchup of the season between the top-ranked tennis stars
But, with Italian second-ranked another key player too missing, the Italian duo owned their opportunities in the limelight with three wins from all their matches apiece during the tournament
Dramatic Comeback Secures Win
The audience shouted the player's moniker as he maintained his composure to close out his recovery victory to love, having achieved the breakthrough in the 11th game of a nail-biting deciding set
That was quite an accomplishment, given he had admitted he had achieved a "goal" in delivering Italy to Sunday's showpiece on domestic ground
In opposition to the events of Friday night, when Cobolli tore off his jersey in celebration on "among the greatest" moments of his career, the world number 22 paid the price for a slow start as he lost a dominant first set
But Cobolli initiated a essential, swift response after going a behind at the start of the following set
Cobolli's fortunes seemed to change after a brief pause in play when a spectator of the audience became unwell
When the match resumed, and with his opponent facing break point, the player floated over a shot that caught a fortunate net tape and brought the game to deuce
Although frustratingly denied four set points on his rival's service game, the champion wrested control of a decisive breaker to force the final set - where he yet again delivered
The Veteran Extends Impressive Run
The Italian star had previously extended his Davis Cup singles victory run to 11 matches with an excellent performance against Carreno Busta
The former Wimbledon runner-up used his third break point for a advantage before assuredly closing the first set to love
Having taken 11 of the last 13 points to take the first set, the player appeared ready to strengthen his hold on the match upon forcing two break points in the initial game of the following set
His opponent succeeded to save each before putting together a sequence of solid service games - but the Italian took his following chance and closed to love to finish his victory