Italy in the Davis Cup final: Cobolli hero, they seek a three-peat

Italy returns to the Davis Cup final after epic battle

Italy, the defending two-time champion, secured its place in the Davis Cup final. Flavio Cobolli starred in an exciting match against Zizou Bergs of Belgium, with a final score of 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (15). Cobolli showed great resilience by saving seven match points in a semifinal full of drama. After squandering six opportunities to close out the match, Cobolli finally secured the victory for Italy. The celebration was effusive, removing his shirt and sharing the joy with his teammates, before consoling a dejected Bergs, who was comforted by his team. The tiebreak of the final set, with a score of 17-15, became the sixth longest in Davis Cup history.

“We fought for our country, for this victory, and in the end, my dream came true,” Cobolli declared. “I played for my whole team, my family, and it’s one of the best days of my life.”

Flavio Cobolli

Cobolli secured the victory for Italy without the need for the doubles match, establishing an insurmountable 2-0 lead. Previously, Matteo Berrettini contributed to the Italian triumph by defeating Raphael Collignon with a score of 6-3, 6-4.

The image shows Flavio Cobolli celebrating the victory, which led Italy to the Davis Cup final. Italy reaches the final with a streak of 13 consecutive victories and will face the winner of the semi-final between Germany and Spain. In the match, Bergs, despite not having won any individual title on the men’s circuit, demonstrated a high level of play against Cobolli, who had the support of the public in Bologna. After a 3-3 tiebreak in the second set, Bergs managed to equalize the score. The players exchanged match point opportunities, until Cobolli finally secured the victory with a winning serve. Cobolli celebrated with the team captain, Filippo Volandri, who remained calm during the tense tiebreak.

“In my five years as captain, I had never seen anything like it. But this is what the Davis Cup does. It was incredible,” Volandri commented. “In the end, I told Cobolli, it’s 5% tactics and 95% heart.”

Filippo Volandri

Berrettini, for his part, had a more comfortable match, securing the first set on his serve against Collignon. Although Collignon managed to break serve at the beginning of the second set, Berrettini recovered his game to win with a final score of 6-3, 6-4. The Davis Cup Finals 8 is the sixth edition of the renewed event, where the champion is decided at a neutral venue.