The Italian team Clinches Historic Three-Peat Davis Cup Championship
The Italian player clinched the sixth-longest deciding set in team tennis records to defeat Belgium's Zizou Bergs on Friday
Flavio Cobolli and Matteo Berrettini guided the Italian squad to Davis Cup success as the home team overcame Spain to capture a historic three-peat title in front of an jubilant home crowd
48 hours following he edged 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 three sets
The 23-year-old's tenacious 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 success clinched a 2-0 win for his country in Bologna after Berrettini had prevailed in straight sets against Pablo Carreno Busta
It is a fourth team championship title in total for the Italian team, who are the first nation to achieve three straight titles since title holders stopped receiving direct entry to the championship match 53 years ago
Local Supporters Fuels Italian Victory
Supported enthusiastically by the vast majority of a sell-out capacity crowd, the Italian star overcame a slow start to spark moments of celebration among the team players, coaches and fans
Cobolli was surrounded by his team-mates on the playing surface but took a brief time to praise his opponent on his performance before returning to the festivities
Key Players Deliver in Absence
Each Italy and Spain made the championship match even with missing star athletes, with the absence of top-ranked players preventing fans a seventh meeting of the season between the world's dominant men's players
But, with national second-ranked another key player also missing, Cobolli and Berrettini seized their opportunities in the limelight with perfect records from all their matches apiece this week
Dramatic Recovery Secures Victory
The crowd chanted Cobolli's name as he maintained his composure to close out his comeback triumph to love, having achieved the decisive break in the penultimate game of a nail-biting final set
That was quite an accomplishment, given he had admitted he had realized a "dream" in delivering his nation to Sunday's showpiece on domestic ground
In contrast to the events of Friday night, when the athlete removed his jersey in celebration on "one of the best" days of his life, the ranked player paid the consequence for a slow start as he conceded a dominant opening set
But the determined player launched a necessary, swift comeback after falling a break down at the beginning of the following set
Cobolli's fortunes appeared to change after a brief pause in play when a member of the audience became unwell
When the match continued, and with Munar facing a critical moment, the Italian lobbed over a volley that caught a fortunate net cord and brought the game back on level terms
Although frustratingly prevented multiple opportunities on his rival's serve, the champion wrested control of a decisive tie-break to force the final set - where he yet again delivered
Berrettini Continues Remarkable Run
Berrettini had earlier extended his team competition singles victory run to 11 matches with an excellent display against the Spanish opponent
The Grand Slam finalist converted his decisive opportunity for a 5-3 lead before confidently closing the opener to love
Having won 11 of the last 13 points to take the first set, Berrettini appeared ready to tighten his hold on the contest upon forcing two break points in the opening game of the second
His opponent managed to survive each before producing a series of solid serving performances - but the Italian seized his next opportunity and served out to love to finish his victory