Flavio Cobolli clinched the sixth-longest deciding set in team tennis history to defeat his Belgian opponent during the semi-finals
Flavio Cobolli alongside Matteo Berrettini propelled the Italian squad to Davis Cup glory as the home team defeated the Spanish team to capture a historic third consecutive title in front of an overjoyed home crowd
Two days after he narrowly won a marathon lengthy decider, the Italian talent returned to excelled as he fought back from behind in sets to overcome Jaume Munar in three sets
The young player's determined 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 triumph clinched a 2-0 win for his nation in the Italian city after Berrettini had won 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 championships since defending champions no longer received direct entry to the championship match 53 years ago
Home Crowd Inspires Team Italy Victory
Supported enthusiastically by the vast majority of a sell-out capacity audience, Cobolli conquered a poor beginning to trigger scenes of jubilation among the Italian players, coaches and fans
The champion was surrounded by his team-mates on the playing surface but paused for a moment to commend Munar on his performance before returning to the festivities
Key Players Deliver in Missing Stars
Both the Italian squad and Spain made the final despite missing key players, with the absence of top-ranked players denying spectators a seventh meeting of the season between the world's dominant men's players
But, with Italian number two another key player also absent, Cobolli and Berrettini owned their opportunities in the limelight with three wins from three singles matches apiece during the tournament
Thrilling Comeback Seals Victory
The audience shouted Cobolli's moniker as he kept his calm to serve out his recovery triumph 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 his nation to the showpiece on domestic ground
In opposition to the events of the previous match, when Cobolli tore off his jersey in jubilation on "one of the best" days of his career, the world number 22 faced the price for a slow start as he lost a dominant first set
But Cobolli launched a necessary, swift comeback after falling a break down at the beginning of the second
Cobolli's fortunes seemed to change after a nine-minute pause in play when a member of the audience became unwell
When play resumed, and with Munar down a critical moment, the player lobbed over a shot that caught a lucky net tape and put the set to deuce
Although frustratingly denied four set points on his rival's serve, Cobolli seized command of a decisive tie-break to force the decider - where he once again performed
The Veteran Continues Remarkable Winning Streak
The Italian star had previously taken his Davis Cup singles victory run to eleven consecutive wins with an excellent performance against the Spanish opponent
The Grand Slam finalist used his decisive opportunity for a advantage before assuredly closing the first set to love
Having taken the majority of points to secure the opening set, Berrettini appeared ready to tighten his hold on the match upon forcing opportunities in the opening game of the following set
His opponent succeeded to survive both before putting together a sequence of solid service games - but Berrettini took his next opportunity and closed to love to finish his victory
