Italy have been crowned Davis Cup champions for the third year in a row after beating Spain. The two teams reached the final this week despite the absence of their respective star players Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in Bologna.
And it was Italy who retained their title after Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli won their singles matches on Sunday. Berrettini defeated Pablo Carreño Busta 6-3, 6-4 in the opening match and an entertaining battle between Cobolli and Jaume Munar ensued, with the Italian storming back to win 1-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5.
Berrettini served 13 aces as he breezed through his match in one hour and 18 minutes.
The 2021 Wimbledon finalist took the only break in the eighth game and then served for the set. Little could separate the pair in the second, but Berrettini found another break deep in the set to move the Italians closer to victory.
Munar, who needed to win the second singles match to force a doubles decider, stormed through the opening set with two service breaks. The Spaniard also broke Cobolli in the opening game of the second, but the Italian responded immediately with a break of his own in the next, eventually winning the tie-break. And Cobolli found the crucial break of serve in the 11th game of the deciding set before serving out the match to ensure Italy’s success.
Both teams were missing their key men, with Spain without injured world number 1 Alcaraz and Italy without world number 2 Sinner, who skipped the final to focus on preparing for next season.
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