BOLOGNA, Italy – Two-time defending champion Italy returned to the Davis Cup final after Flavio Cobolli defeated Belgium’s Zizou Bergs 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (15) after saving seven match points in a dramatic semifinal Friday.
After wasting six match points himself, Cobolli finally got Italy over the line. He ripped off his shirt, celebrated with teammates and eventually went to comfort Bergs, who was consoled by his team as he cried in his seat.
The final set tiebreak of 17-15 was the sixth longest in Davis Cup history.
“We fought for our country, for this victory, but in the end I realized my dream,” Cobolli said. “I played in front of my whole team and my family, and it’s one of the best days of my life.”
Cobolli gave Italy an unassailable 2-0 lead without the need for the doubles. Earlier, Matteo Berrettini defeated Raphael Collignon 6-3, 6-4 to help Italy get started.
Italy is on a thirteen-match winning streak and will meet the winner of Saturday’s semi-final between Germany and Spain, the injured number 1 Carlos Alcaraz.
Neither Belgian won a singles title on the men’s tour on Friday. But the No. 43-ranked Bergs played like it was the biggest match of his life against No. 22 Cobolli, who had the crowd behind him in Bologna.
From 3-3 in the second set tiebreak, Bergs found his range and leveled the match with a forehand to the back of the court, allowing Cobolli to return long.
The players then traded and missed match point opportunities, with Cobolli ultimately triumphing with a service winner that Bergs could only just get his racket on.
Cobolli jumped into the arms of team captain Filippo Volandri, who somehow managed to remain calm during the rollercoaster tiebreak.
“In the five years I’ve been captain, I’ve never seen anything like this. But this is what the Davis Cup does. It was incredible,” Volandri said. ‘I told it at the end [Cobolli]It’s 5% tactics and 95% heart.”
It was a more comfortable match for Berrettini, the 2021 Wimbledon runner-up with 10 singles titles on tour. He took the first set on serve against No. 86 Collignon.
Collignon dropped his opening serve of the second set but broke back for 2-2. Berrettini withstood aggressive shots and broke for 4-3, winning on his first match point with a love hold.
The Davis Cup Final 8 is the sixth edition of the renewed event in which the champion decides on a neutral site.
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