Italy Wins Record Third Straight Tennis Trophy Title
The Italian player secured the sixth-longest deciding set in team tennis history to defeat his Belgian opponent during the semi-finals
The young Italian star and Matteo Berrettini propelled Italy to team tennis success as the home team beat Spain to claim a record-breaking third successive title in front of an jubilant home crowd
Two days after he edged an epic 32-point tie-break, the Italian talent once again shone as he fought back from behind in sets to beat his Spanish opponent in a grueling match
The young player's gritty comeback victory triumph secured a 2-0 triumph for his nation in the Italian city after his teammate had won 6-3 6-4 against Pablo Carreno Busta
It is a fourth overall Davis Cup title in total for the Italian team, who are the first nation to achieve three consecutive championships since title holders no longer received automatic qualification to the final 53 years ago
Home Crowd Inspires Italian Triumph
Backed passionately by the overwhelming number of a packed capacity audience, the Italian star conquered a slow start to spark moments of jubilation among the team players, staff and fans
Cobolli was mobbed by his teammates on court but paused for a brief time to commend Munar on his performance before returning to the festivities
Star Performers Step Up in Absence
Both the Italian squad and the Spanish team made the final despite being without star athletes, with the absence of top-ranked players denying fans a seventh meeting of the season between the world's dominant men's players
But, with Italian number two another key player too absent, Cobolli and Berrettini owned their opportunities in the spotlight with perfect records from all their matches apiece during the tournament
Dramatic Recovery Seals Victory
The audience chanted Cobolli's name as he kept his composure to serve out his recovery triumph to love, having forced the decisive break in the 11th game of a tense deciding set
That was no mean feat, given he had admitted he had achieved a "dream" in delivering Italy to Sunday's final on home soil
In opposition to the scenes of the previous match, when the athlete removed his shirt in celebration on "among the greatest" moments of his life, the ranked player faced the price for a poor beginning as he conceded a dominant opening set
But Cobolli initiated a essential, swift response after falling a break down at the start of the following set
Cobolli's luck seemed to change after a nine-minute pause in the match when a member of the crowd became unwell
When play continued, and with Munar facing a critical moment, the Italian floated over a shot that caught a lucky net cord and put the set to deuce
Even though frustratingly denied four set points on his rival's serve, the champion wrested command of a must-win breaker to push the decider - where he once again performed
Berrettini Continues Impressive Winning Streak
Berrettini had earlier extended his team competition singles winning streak to 11 matches with an excellent performance against Carreno Busta
The former Wimbledon runner-up used his third break point for a advantage before confidently closing the opener to zero
Having won 11 of the last 13 points to secure the opening set, the player appeared ready to strengthen his grip on the match upon forcing two break points in the opening game of the following set
His opponent succeeded to survive both before producing a series of solid serving performances - but Berrettini seized his next opportunity and served out to zero to complete his triumph
