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Flavio Cobolli alongside Matteo Berrettini propelled Italy to team tennis glory as the hosts beat Spain to claim a historic third consecutive championship in front of an ecstatic home crowd

48 hours after he edged an epic 32-point tie-break, Cobolli once again shone as he fought back from behind in sets to defeat his Spanish opponent in a grueling match

The 23-year-old's gritty 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 triumph clinched a straight sets victory for his country in Bologna after his teammate had won 6-3 6-4 against Pablo Carreno Busta

It is a fourth overall team championship victory overall for Italy, who are the first nation to achieve three consecutive titles since title holders stopped receiving direct entry to the final over five decades back

Local Supporters Fuels Italian Triumph

Backed enthusiastically by the overwhelming number of a packed 10,000-strong audience, the Italian star conquered a poor beginning to spark scenes of jubilation among the team athletes, coaches and supporters

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

Key Players Deliver in Missing Stars

Each the Italian squad and Spain reached the final even with missing star athletes, with the non-participation of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner preventing fans a seventh meeting of 2025 between the top-ranked tennis stars

But, with national number two another key player too absent, Cobolli and Berrettini owned their moments in the spotlight with three wins from three singles matches apiece during the tournament

Thrilling Recovery Secures Win

The audience chanted the player's name as he kept his composure to serve out his recovery victory to zero, having forced the breakthrough in the 11th game of a nail-biting final set

That was quite an accomplishment, given he had stated he had realized a "dream" in guiding Italy to the showpiece on domestic ground

In opposition to the scenes of the previous match, when the athlete tore off his jersey in jubilation on "among the greatest" days of his career, the ranked player paid the price for a poor beginning as he conceded a dominant opening set

But the determined player initiated a necessary, immediate response after going a break down at the start of the following set

Cobolli's luck appeared to change after a nine-minute stop in play when a member of the crowd became ill

When play resumed, and with Munar down a critical moment, the player lobbed over a volley that hit a lucky net tape and put the game to deuce

Although frustratingly prevented four set points on his rival's service game, the champion seized command of a decisive tie-break to push the decider - where he yet again delivered

The Veteran Continues Remarkable Run

The Italian star had earlier extended his Davis Cup singles winning streak to eleven consecutive wins with an excellent display against Carreno Busta

The Grand Slam finalist used his decisive opportunity for a 5-3 lead before confidently serving out the opener to zero

Having won the majority of points to secure the opening set, Berrettini looked set to tighten his hold on the contest upon creating two break points in the opening game of the following set

Carreno Busta managed to save each before producing a sequence of solid serving performances - but Berrettini took his next opportunity and closed to love to finish his victory