The Italian team Secures Record Third Straight Tennis Trophy Championship
The Italian player won one of the longest deciding set in team tennis records to defeat his Belgian opponent during the semi-finals
Flavio Cobolli and his compatriot propelled the Italian squad to team tennis glory as the home team beat the Spanish team to capture a record-breaking three-peat championship in front of an jubilant home crowd
48 hours following he edged an epic 32-point decider, the Italian talent returned to shone as he battled back from behind in sets to defeat his Spanish opponent in three sets
The young player's determined comeback victory success sealed a 2-0 win for his country in the Italian city after Berrettini had prevailed 6-3 6-4 against the Spanish player
It is a fourth overall Davis Cup title overall for the Italian team, who are the first nation to achieve three straight championships since title holders no longer received automatic qualification to the championship match over five decades back
Home Crowd Fuels Italian Victory
Backed passionately by the overwhelming number of a sell-out 10,000-strong audience, Cobolli conquered a poor beginning to trigger moments of celebration among the team players, staff and fans
Cobolli was surrounded by his teammates on court but paused for a brief time to commend Munar on his efforts before returning to the celebrations
Star Performers Deliver in Missing Stars
Both Italy and the Spanish team made the final despite being without key players, with the non-participation of top-ranked players preventing fans a seventh meeting of the season between the world's dominant men's players
But, with Italian second-ranked another key player also absent, Cobolli and Berrettini owned their moments in the spotlight with perfect records from all their matches apiece this week
Thrilling Recovery Secures Win
The audience chanted Cobolli's moniker as he maintained his composure to serve out his comeback triumph to zero, having forced the breakthrough in the penultimate game of a nail-biting deciding set
That was quite an accomplishment, given he had stated he had realized a "dream" in delivering Italy to Sunday's final on home soil
In contrast to the events of the previous match, when the athlete tore off his shirt in celebration on "among the greatest" days of his career, the world number 22 faced the price for a poor beginning as he conceded a dominant first set
But the determined player launched a essential, swift comeback after going a break down at the start of the following set
The Italian's luck appeared to change after a nine-minute stop in the match when a spectator of the crowd became unwell
When play continued, and with Munar down a critical moment, the Italian floated over a shot that hit a lucky net tape and put the game back on level terms
Even though frustratingly denied four set points on his opponent's service game, Cobolli seized command of a decisive breaker to force the decider - where he yet again performed
The Veteran Extends Remarkable Run
Berrettini had earlier extended his Davis Cup individual victory run to 11 matches with an superb display against the Spanish opponent
The former Wimbledon runner-up used his third break point for a advantage before assuredly closing the opener to love
Having won the majority of points to take the first set, Berrettini appeared ready to tighten his grip on the contest upon forcing opportunities in the opening game of the following set
Carreno Busta managed to save both before putting together a series of strong service games - but Berrettini took his next opportunity and closed to love to complete his triumph
