“At the end I looked at my bench and found something in my heart.”
For Flavio Cobolli, the faces cheering him on from the sidelines provided the extra boost he needed as he fought to achieve his dream of becoming world champion.
The 23-year-old secured a historic third consecutive Davis Cup title for Italy by battling back from a set down to defeat to Spaniard Jaume Munar to seal a 2-0 win in front of a jubilant home crowd in Bologna.
Cobolli’s gritty 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 victory, achieved two days after he confirmed Italy’s place in Sunday’s showpiece by winning an epic 32-point tie-break, followed Matteo Berrettini’s 6-3 6-4 victory over Pablo Carreno Busta.
It was an Italian double act that had been a long time in the making.
As a youngster, Berrettini worked with Cobolli’s father, former player Stefano. He was often called upon to look after Cobolli – six years his junior – and kept him busy by playing tennis with him.
A video shared on social media by the Italian outlet Tennis room, external shows Berrettini towering over Cobolli as they walk off a tennis court after practicing together in 2011.
Fourteen years later, Cobolli and the teammate he describes as “like a brother” to me walked off the court in Italy as Davis Cup champions, having gone undefeated in singles in the tournament.
“It’s impossible to describe this feeling. I dreamed a lot this night,” Cobolli said.
‘We cannot lose for our country. Sometimes you learn, but you never lose.
“I don’t know what I did today. I don’t know where I am. All I know is that I am a world champion.”
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