Italy Wins Historic Three-Peat Davis Cup Title
The Italian player secured one of the longest tie-break in team tennis records to defeat his Belgian opponent on Friday
The young Italian star alongside his compatriot led Italy to Davis Cup victory as the hosts defeated Spain to capture a record-breaking third consecutive championship in front of an jubilant local supporters
Two days following he edged a marathon 32-point decider, the Italian talent returned to starred as he recovered from a set and a break down to overcome Jaume Munar in a grueling match
The young player's gritty 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 triumph sealed a 2-0 win for his country in the Italian city after his teammate had triumphed 6-3 6-4 against Pablo Carreno Busta
It is a fourth Davis Cup victory overall for Italy, who are the initial country to win three consecutive titles since title holders no longer received automatic qualification to the championship match over five decades back
Local Supporters Inspires Team Italy Victory
Backed passionately by the overwhelming number of a packed 10,000-strong audience, Cobolli overcame a slow start to spark moments of jubilation among the team athletes, coaches and fans
The champion was mobbed by his teammates on the playing surface but paused for a moment to commend Munar on his efforts before rejoining the festivities
Star Performers Step Up in Absence
Both the Italian squad and the Spanish team reached the final despite being without key players, with the absence of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner denying spectators a seventh meeting of the season between the world's dominant tennis stars
But, with Italian number two Lorenzo Musetti too missing, the Italian duo seized their opportunities in the limelight with perfect records from all their matches apiece this week
Thrilling Recovery Seals Victory
The audience shouted the player's moniker as he kept his calm to serve out his recovery victory to zero, having forced the decisive break in the 11th game of a nail-biting final set
That was no mean feat, given he had admitted he had realized a "goal" in delivering his nation to Sunday's final on home soil
In contrast to the events of Friday night, when the athlete removed his shirt in jubilation on "among the greatest" days of his career, the world number 22 faced the price for a poor beginning as he conceded a one-sided opening set
But Cobolli launched a essential, swift response after falling a break down at the beginning of the following set
The Italian's luck appeared to shift after a nine-minute pause in the match when a spectator of the audience became ill
When the match resumed, and with his opponent down a critical moment, the Italian floated over a volley that hit a fortunate net cord and put the game to deuce
Although frustratingly denied four set points on his rival's service game, Cobolli wrested command of a decisive breaker to push the final set - where he yet again delivered
The Veteran Continues Remarkable Run
The Italian star had earlier extended his Davis Cup singles winning streak to eleven consecutive wins with an superb display against Carreno Busta
The Grand Slam finalist used his decisive opportunity for a advantage before assuredly serving out the opener to zero
Having taken 11 of the last 13 points to secure the first set, the player looked set to strengthen his hold on the match upon creating opportunities in the opening game of the second
His opponent succeeded to survive both before putting together a series of solid serving performances - but Berrettini seized his next opportunity and served out to zero to complete his victory
