🔗 Share this article

Flavio Cobolli alongside Matteo Berrettini propelled Italy to team tennis success as the hosts defeated Spain to secure a record-breaking third successive championship in front of an ecstatic local supporters

48 hours after he edged a marathon 32-point decider, the Italian talent returned to excelled as he fought back from behind in sets to defeat Jaume Munar in a grueling match

The 23-year-old's gritty 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 success clinched a 2-0 win for his country in Bologna after his teammate had prevailed in straight sets against Pablo Carreno Busta

It is a fourth team championship victory in total for the Italian team, who are the first nation to win three straight titles since defending champions no longer received automatic qualification to the championship match over five decades back

Home Crowd Inspires Italian Triumph

Supported enthusiastically by the vast majority of a packed 10,000-strong audience, the Italian star conquered a poor beginning to spark moments of jubilation among the Italian players, staff and supporters

Cobolli was mobbed by his teammates on the playing surface but paused for a brief time to commend his opponent on his efforts before returning to the festivities

Key Players Deliver in Missing Stars

Each Italy and the Spanish team made the championship match despite being without key players, with the absence of top-ranked players denying fans a seventh matchup of the season between the world's dominant men's players

But, with national number two another key player also absent, Cobolli and Berrettini seized their opportunities in the spotlight with perfect records from three singles matches apiece this week

Thrilling Comeback Secures Victory

The crowd chanted Cobolli's name as he maintained his composure to close out his recovery triumph to love, having forced the breakthrough in the penultimate game of a nail-biting deciding set

That was quite an accomplishment, given he had stated he had achieved a "goal" in guiding his nation to Sunday's showpiece on home soil

In contrast to the events of the previous match, when the athlete tore off his jersey in jubilation on "one of the best" moments of his life, the world number 22 faced the consequence for a slow start as he conceded a one-sided first set

But the determined player initiated a essential, immediate response after going a break down at the start of the second

The Italian's luck seemed to change after a nine-minute pause in play when a spectator of the audience became unwell

When play continued, and with Munar facing a critical moment, the player lobbed over a shot that hit a fortunate net cord and brought the set back on level terms

Even though annoyingly denied multiple opportunities on his opponent's serve, the champion wrested command of a decisive tie-break to push the final set - where he yet again delivered

The Veteran Continues Impressive Winning Streak

Berrettini had previously extended his team competition singles winning streak to eleven consecutive wins with an superb display against the Spanish opponent

The former Wimbledon runner-up used his third break point for a advantage before assuredly closing the first set to zero

Having won the majority of points to secure the opening set, the player looked set to tighten his grip on the contest upon creating opportunities in the opening game of the second

His opponent succeeded to save each before producing a series of solid serving performances - but Berrettini took his next opportunity and closed to love to finish his victory