The Italian team Clinches Record Third Consecutive Davis Cup Championship

Team Italy celebration

Flavio Cobolli secured the sixth-longest tie-break in team tennis history to beat Belgium's Zizou Bergs on Friday

Flavio Cobolli alongside Matteo Berrettini guided the Italian squad to Davis Cup success as the home team overcame the Spanish team to capture a record-breaking three-peat championship in front of an ecstatic home crowd

48 hours following he narrowly won a marathon 32-point tie-break, the Italian talent once again excelled as he recovered from a set and a break down to defeat Jaume Munar in three sets

The young player's determined 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 triumph sealed a straight sets triumph for his nation in Bologna after his teammate had triumphed 6-3 6-4 against Pablo Carreno Busta

It is a fourth team championship title overall for Italy, who are the first nation to win three consecutive titles since defending champions no longer received automatic qualification to the final over five decades back

Home Crowd Inspires Team Italy Triumph

Supported passionately by the vast majority of a packed 10,000-strong audience, Cobolli conquered a poor beginning to spark moments of celebration among the Italian players, coaches and fans

Cobolli was surrounded by his team-mates on court but took a moment to praise Munar on his efforts before rejoining the festivities

Key Players Step Up in Missing Stars

Each Italy and Spain made the final despite being without star athletes, 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 number two another key player too missing, Cobolli and Berrettini owned their moments in the spotlight with three wins from three singles matches apiece during the tournament

Thrilling Comeback Seals Victory

The crowd shouted Cobolli's name as he maintained his calm to serve out his comeback victory to love, having forced the decisive break in the 11th game of a nail-biting deciding set

That was no mean feat, given he had admitted he had realized a "dream" in guiding his nation to the final on domestic ground

In opposition to the scenes of the previous match, when Cobolli tore off his jersey in celebration on "among the greatest" moments of his career, the world number 22 paid the consequence for a poor beginning as he conceded a one-sided first set

But the determined player initiated a essential, immediate response after going a behind at the beginning of the second

The Italian's luck appeared to change after a brief stop in the match when a member of the crowd became unwell

When the match continued, and with his opponent down a critical moment, the player floated over a shot that caught a fortunate net tape and brought the set to deuce

Although annoyingly denied multiple opportunities on his rival's serve, Cobolli seized command of a must-win tie-break to push the decider - where he once again performed

Berrettini Extends Remarkable Run

The Italian star had previously extended his team competition individual winning streak to 11 matches with an superb performance against Carreno Busta

The Grand Slam finalist converted his decisive opportunity for a advantage before confidently closing the opener to love

Having taken 11 of the last 13 points to take the opening set, Berrettini looked set to strengthen his hold on the contest upon creating opportunities in the initial game of the following set

His opponent managed to survive each before producing a series of solid service games - but Berrettini seized his next opportunity and closed to zero to finish his victory

Jennifer Brown
Jennifer Brown

Berlin-based event curator and nightlife journalist with a passion for urban culture and entertainment trends.