🔗 Share this article

Flavio Cobolli and Matteo Berrettini propelled the Italian squad to Davis Cup glory as the hosts defeated the Spanish team to secure a historic third consecutive title in front of an jubilant local supporters

Two days after he edged an epic 32-point tie-break, Cobolli once again shone as he fought back from a set and a break down to overcome his Spanish opponent in three sets

The young player's tenacious comeback victory triumph sealed a 2-0 victory for his country in Bologna after his teammate had won in straight sets against the Spanish player

It is a fourth team championship title overall for the Italian team, who are the initial country to achieve three straight championships since title holders stopped receiving direct entry to the championship match over five decades back

Home Crowd Fuels Italian Victory

Backed enthusiastically by the vast majority of a packed capacity crowd, Cobolli conquered a poor beginning to trigger moments of celebration among the team players, coaches and supporters

The champion was mobbed by his team-mates on court but took a brief time to commend his opponent on his performance before returning to the celebrations

Star Performers Step Up in Absence

Both the Italian squad and Spain reached the championship match despite being without star athletes, with the non-participation of top-ranked players preventing spectators a seventh matchup of the season between the world's dominant tennis stars

But, with national second-ranked another key player also missing, Cobolli and Berrettini seized their moments in the limelight with perfect records from three singles matches each during the tournament

Thrilling Comeback Seals Victory

The crowd shouted the player's name as he maintained his composure to serve out his comeback victory to zero, having achieved the breakthrough in the penultimate game of a tense final set

That was quite an accomplishment, given he had stated he had achieved a "dream" in guiding Italy to Sunday's showpiece on domestic ground

In opposition to the events of Friday night, when Cobolli removed his shirt in jubilation on "one of the best" days of his life, the world number 22 faced the price for a slow start as he lost a dominant first set

But Cobolli launched a necessary, swift response after going a behind at the start of the following set

The Italian's fortunes seemed to shift after a nine-minute pause in play when a member of the audience became unwell

When the match continued, and with his opponent down break point, the player floated over a volley that caught a lucky net tape and brought the game to deuce

Although frustratingly prevented four set points on his rival's serve, the champion wrested control of a must-win breaker to force the final set - where he yet again delivered

Berrettini Continues Remarkable Run

Berrettini had previously extended his team competition individual winning streak to eleven consecutive wins with an superb display against Carreno Busta

The Grand Slam finalist used his third break point for a 5-3 lead before confidently closing the opener to love

Having taken 11 of the last 13 points to take the first set, Berrettini appeared ready to strengthen his hold on the contest upon creating opportunities in the initial game of the second

Carreno Busta managed to survive each before producing a sequence of strong serving performances - but the Italian took his following chance and closed to zero to finish his victory