Italy Secures Record Third Consecutive Tennis Trophy Title
The Italian player secured the sixth-longest deciding set in team tennis history to defeat Belgium's Zizou Bergs on Friday
Flavio Cobolli alongside Matteo Berrettini led the Italian squad to team tennis glory as the home team overcame the Spanish team to secure a historic third consecutive title in front of an ecstatic home crowd
Two days following he edged an epic 32-point tie-break, the Italian talent once again excelled as he fought back from a set and a break down to defeat his Spanish opponent in a grueling match
The young player's gritty 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 success clinched a straight sets triumph for his nation in Bologna after his teammate had triumphed in straight sets against the Spanish player
It is a fourth team championship title overall for Italy, who are the first nation to win three consecutive titles since defending champions stopped receiving direct entry to the championship match over five decades back
Local Supporters Fuels Italian Triumph
Backed enthusiastically by the overwhelming number of a packed capacity crowd, the Italian star conquered a poor beginning to trigger scenes of jubilation among the Italian athletes, coaches and fans
The champion was surrounded by his teammates on court but paused for a brief time to praise his opponent on his efforts before returning to the festivities
Key Players Step Up in Missing Stars
Both the Italian squad and the Spanish team reached the championship match despite being without key players, with the non-participation of top-ranked players preventing spectators a seventh meeting of the season between the world's dominant tennis stars
But, with national second-ranked Lorenzo Musetti too missing, Cobolli and Berrettini owned their moments in the spotlight with perfect records from all their matches each this week
Thrilling Comeback Secures Victory
The audience shouted Cobolli's name as he maintained his composure to close out his comeback victory to love, having achieved the breakthrough in the penultimate game of a tense deciding set
That was quite an accomplishment, given he had admitted he had realized a "dream" in guiding Italy to the final on domestic ground
In opposition to the events of Friday night, when the athlete tore off his jersey in celebration on "among the greatest" days of his career, the world number 22 paid the consequence for a slow start as he conceded a one-sided first set
But Cobolli initiated a essential, swift comeback after falling a break down at the start of the following set
The Italian's fortunes seemed to change after a nine-minute stop in the match when a spectator of the crowd became unwell
When the match resumed, and with Munar facing a critical moment, the Italian lobbed over a volley that hit a lucky net cord and brought the game back on level terms
Even though annoyingly prevented four set points on his rival's service game, the champion seized command of a decisive tie-break to force the decider - where he yet again delivered
Berrettini Extends Remarkable Run
Berrettini had earlier extended his team competition singles winning streak to eleven consecutive wins with an superb display against Carreno Busta
The Grand Slam finalist converted his third break point for a advantage before confidently closing the first set to zero
Having taken 11 of the last 13 points to secure the first set, the player appeared ready to tighten his hold on the match upon forcing two break points in the initial game of the second
Carreno Busta succeeded to survive both before producing a sequence of strong serving performances - but Berrettini seized his next opportunity and served out to love to finish his victory