Italy Wins Record Three-Peat Tennis Trophy Championship
The Italian player won the sixth-longest tie-break in Davis Cup records to defeat his Belgian opponent on Friday
Flavio Cobolli alongside Matteo Berrettini led the Italian squad to Davis Cup success as the hosts beat Spain to secure a historic three-peat championship in front of an jubilant local supporters
Two days after he narrowly won a marathon lengthy tie-break, Cobolli once again starred as he fought back from behind in sets to beat his Spanish opponent in a grueling match
The 23-year-old's determined 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 win sealed a straight sets triumph for his country in the Italian city after Berrettini had prevailed 6-3 6-4 against the Spanish player
It is a fourth overall team championship victory in total for Italy, who are the first nation to win three consecutive championships since defending champions no longer received automatic qualification to the final 53 years ago
Local Supporters Inspires Team Italy Victory
Supported enthusiastically by the vast majority of a packed capacity crowd, Cobolli overcame a slow start to spark scenes of celebration among the team athletes, staff and supporters
The champion was mobbed by his team-mates on court but paused for a brief time to praise his opponent on his performance before rejoining the celebrations
Key Players Deliver in Absence
Both Italy and Spain reached the championship match even with missing key players, with the absence of top-ranked players denying fans a seventh meeting of the season between the world's dominant men's players
But, with national second-ranked Lorenzo Musetti also missing, the Italian duo seized their opportunities in the spotlight with perfect records from three singles matches each during the tournament
Dramatic Comeback Secures Win
The audience chanted Cobolli's moniker as he maintained his calm to serve out his recovery victory to zero, 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 achieved a "goal" in guiding Italy to the showpiece on home soil
In opposition to the events of the previous match, when the athlete removed his shirt in celebration on "among the greatest" moments of his career, the ranked player paid the consequence for a slow start as he conceded a one-sided opening set
But Cobolli initiated a necessary, immediate comeback after falling a behind at the start of the second
The Italian's luck appeared to change after a nine-minute pause in the match when a spectator of the audience became unwell
When play continued, and with Munar facing a critical moment, the Italian lobbed over a volley that caught a lucky net tape and put the game back on level terms
Even though annoyingly denied multiple opportunities on his opponent's serve, Cobolli seized command of a must-win breaker to push the final set - where he yet again performed
The Veteran Extends Impressive Run
Berrettini had previously extended his Davis Cup singles victory run to 11 matches with an superb performance against Carreno Busta
The Grand Slam finalist used his third break point for a 5-3 lead before assuredly closing the opener to love
Having taken 11 of the last 13 points to secure the opening set, the player appeared ready to strengthen his grip on the match upon forcing opportunities in the opening game of the following set
His opponent managed to save both before producing a series of solid serving performances - but the Italian seized his next opportunity and closed to zero to finish his victory
