🔗 Share this article

The young Italian star and his compatriot led Italy to Davis Cup glory as the home team beat Spain to claim a historic third successive championship in front of an ecstatic home crowd

48 hours after he narrowly won a marathon 32-point decider, Cobolli returned to starred as he battled back from a set and a break down to beat Jaume Munar in three sets

The 23-year-old's tenacious comeback victory win clinched a 2-0 victory for his nation in Bologna after his teammate had won 6-3 6-4 against Pablo Carreno Busta

It is a fourth team championship victory overall for the Italian team, who are the first nation to win three consecutive titles since title holders stopped receiving automatic qualification to the final over five decades back

Home Crowd Fuels Team Italy Triumph

Backed enthusiastically by the vast majority of a sell-out 10,000-strong crowd, the Italian star overcame a slow start to spark moments of celebration among the Italian players, staff and fans

The champion was mobbed by his teammates on the playing surface but paused for a moment to commend his opponent on his performance before rejoining the celebrations

Star Performers Deliver in Absence

Each the Italian squad and Spain made the championship match even with missing star athletes, with the non-participation of top-ranked players denying fans a seventh matchup of the season between the top-ranked men's players

But, with national number two another key player also absent, the Italian duo seized their moments in the limelight with three wins from three singles matches each during the tournament

Dramatic Comeback Seals Victory

The crowd shouted Cobolli's name as he maintained his calm to serve out his recovery triumph to love, having achieved the breakthrough in the 11th game of a nail-biting deciding set

That was no mean feat, given he had admitted he had achieved a "goal" in guiding his nation to the final on domestic ground

In opposition to the scenes of the previous match, when the athlete removed his jersey in jubilation on "among the greatest" days of his life, the ranked player paid the price for a poor beginning as he conceded a one-sided opening set

But Cobolli launched a essential, swift response after going a break down at the start of the second

The Italian's fortunes appeared to change after a brief pause in play when a spectator of the crowd became unwell

When the match resumed, and with Munar down a critical moment, the player lobbed over a shot that hit a lucky net tape and put the set to deuce

Even though annoyingly denied four set points on his opponent's serve, Cobolli wrested control of a must-win breaker to force the final set - where he once again performed

The Veteran Continues Remarkable Winning Streak

The Italian star had earlier extended his team competition singles victory run to 11 matches with an superb performance against Carreno Busta

The former Wimbledon runner-up 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, Berrettini appeared ready to strengthen his grip on the match upon creating opportunities in the opening game of the following set

His opponent managed to save each before putting together a series of strong serving performances - but the Italian seized his next opportunity and closed to love to complete his victory