Italy Wins Historic Third Consecutive Tennis Trophy Championship

Team Italy celebration

Flavio Cobolli secured one of the longest deciding set in Davis Cup history to overcome Belgium's Zizou Bergs on Friday

Flavio Cobolli and his compatriot guided the Italian squad to Davis Cup glory as the home team beat Spain to capture a record-breaking three-peat championship in front of an overjoyed home crowd

48 hours following he narrowly won a marathon 32-point decider, Cobolli returned to starred as he fought back from a set and a break down to beat Jaume Munar in three sets

The 23-year-old's determined 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 win sealed a 2-0 triumph for his country in the Italian city after his teammate had prevailed 6-3 6-4 against the Spanish player

It is a fourth team championship title overall for Italy, who are the first nation to achieve three straight championships since title holders no longer received direct entry to the championship match 53 years ago

Home Crowd Fuels Team Italy Triumph

Backed enthusiastically by the vast majority of a packed 10,000-strong audience, the Italian star conquered a slow start to trigger scenes of celebration among the Italian athletes, coaches and supporters

The champion was surrounded by his team-mates on court but paused for a moment to commend Munar on his efforts before rejoining the celebrations

Star Performers Deliver in Missing Stars

Each the Italian squad and the Spanish team made the final despite being without star athletes, with the non-participation of top-ranked players denying fans a seventh matchup of the season between the top-ranked tennis stars

But, with national number two another key player also absent, Cobolli and Berrettini owned their opportunities in the spotlight with three wins from all their matches apiece this week

Dramatic Recovery Seals Victory

The audience shouted the player's moniker as he kept his composure to serve out his comeback victory to zero, having achieved the decisive break in the penultimate game of a nail-biting deciding set

That was quite an accomplishment, given he had admitted he had achieved a "goal" in delivering his nation to Sunday's final on domestic ground

In contrast to the scenes of Friday night, when Cobolli tore off his shirt in celebration on "one of the best" days of his life, the world number 22 faced the price for a poor beginning as he conceded a one-sided first set

But the determined player launched a necessary, swift comeback after falling a behind at the start of the following set

Cobolli's fortunes appeared to change after a brief stop in play when a spectator of the crowd became unwell

When play continued, and with Munar facing a critical moment, the player lobbed over a volley that caught a lucky net cord and put the set to deuce

Although frustratingly denied multiple opportunities on his rival's serve, the champion seized command of a must-win breaker to force the final set - where he once again performed

The Veteran Extends Remarkable Winning Streak

The Italian star had earlier extended his Davis Cup singles victory run to eleven consecutive wins with an superb display against the Spanish opponent

The Grand Slam finalist used his third break point for a advantage before assuredly serving out the first set to love

Having taken the majority of points to take the first set, Berrettini looked set to tighten his grip on the contest upon forcing opportunities in the opening game of the second

Carreno Busta managed to survive both before producing a sequence of solid service games - but the Italian took his next opportunity and served out to love to finish his triumph

Amanda Schmitt
Amanda Schmitt

Elena is a seasoned travel writer and luxury lifestyle expert, sharing her global adventures and insights on high-end living.