The Italian team Clinches Record Third Consecutive Davis Cup Championship
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