🔗 Share this article

Flavio Cobolli and his compatriot propelled the Italian squad to team tennis glory as the hosts defeated the Spanish team to claim a record-breaking third successive title in front of an jubilant home crowd

48 hours following he narrowly won a marathon lengthy tie-break, Cobolli returned to starred as he battled back from behind in sets to defeat his Spanish opponent in three sets

The young player's determined 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 triumph secured a straight sets triumph for his country in the Italian city after Berrettini had won in straight sets against the Spanish player

It is a fourth team championship victory in total for the Italian team, who are the initial country to win three consecutive championships since title holders no longer received direct entry to the final 53 years ago

Local Supporters Fuels Italian Victory

Supported enthusiastically by the overwhelming number of a sell-out capacity audience, Cobolli conquered a poor beginning to spark moments of jubilation among the Italian players, coaches and supporters

The champion was mobbed by his team-mates on the playing surface but paused for a moment to commend Munar on his performance before rejoining the celebrations

Key Players Deliver in Absence

Both the Italian squad and the Spanish team reached the final despite being without star athletes, with the non-participation of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner denying spectators a seventh matchup of the season between the top-ranked men's players

But, with Italian second-ranked another key player too missing, Cobolli and Berrettini owned their opportunities in the spotlight with three wins from all their matches apiece during the tournament

Dramatic Recovery Seals Win

The audience chanted Cobolli's name as he kept his composure to serve out his comeback victory to love, having achieved the breakthrough in the penultimate game of a nail-biting final set

That was quite an accomplishment, given he had admitted he had realized a "goal" in delivering Italy to the final on home soil

In contrast to the scenes of Friday night, when the athlete removed his shirt in jubilation on "among the greatest" days of his life, the ranked player paid the price for a poor beginning as he conceded a dominant first set

But Cobolli initiated a essential, immediate response after going a behind at the start of the second

Cobolli's fortunes appeared to change after a brief stop in the match when a spectator of the crowd became ill

When the match continued, and with his opponent facing break point, the Italian floated over a volley that hit a lucky net cord and brought the game to deuce

Although annoyingly prevented four set points on his opponent's serve, the champion wrested command of a decisive tie-break to force the final set - where he yet again performed

The Veteran Extends Impressive Run

Berrettini had previously taken his Davis Cup singles victory run to 11 matches with an excellent display against the Spanish opponent

The former Wimbledon runner-up converted his third break point for a advantage before confidently serving out the opener to zero

Having taken the majority of points to secure the first set, the player looked set to tighten his hold on the match upon creating opportunities in the initial game of the following set

Carreno Busta managed to save each before putting together a series of strong service games - but the Italian took his next opportunity and closed to love to complete his triumph