Flavio Cobolli clinched one of the longest tie-break in team tennis records to beat his Belgian opponent during the semi-finals
The young Italian star and Matteo Berrettini propelled Italy to Davis Cup glory as the home team defeated the Spanish team to claim a historic third consecutive title in front of an ecstatic home crowd
48 hours after he edged an epic 32-point tie-break, the Italian talent returned to shone as he fought back from a set and a break down to beat Jaume Munar in three sets
The 23-year-old's determined comeback victory success sealed a straight sets triumph for his country in the Italian city after Berrettini had won 6-3 6-4 against Pablo Carreno Busta
It is a fourth Davis Cup victory overall for the Italian team, who are the initial country to win three consecutive championships since title holders no longer received automatic qualification to the championship match over five decades back
Backed enthusiastically by the overwhelming number of a sell-out 10,000-strong crowd, the Italian star overcame a slow start to spark moments of jubilation among the team players, staff and supporters
The champion was surrounded by his teammates on the playing surface but paused for a moment to praise his opponent on his performance before returning to the celebrations
Both Italy and the Spanish team reached the final despite missing star athletes, with the non-participation of top-ranked players preventing spectators a seventh meeting of the season between the world's dominant tennis stars
But, with Italian second-ranked Lorenzo Musetti also missing, the Italian duo owned their moments in the spotlight with three wins from all their matches apiece during the tournament
The crowd chanted Cobolli's name as he maintained his composure to serve out his recovery triumph to love, having achieved the breakthrough in the penultimate game of a nail-biting final set
That was quite an accomplishment, given he had admitted he had achieved a "dream" in delivering Italy to Sunday's showpiece on home soil
In contrast to the events of the previous match, when Cobolli tore off his jersey in jubilation on "among the greatest" moments of his career, the ranked player faced the consequence for a slow start as he lost a dominant first set
But the determined player initiated a necessary, swift response after going a behind at the start of the second
The Italian's fortunes seemed to shift after a brief stop in play when a member of the audience became ill
When the match continued, and with his opponent facing a critical moment, the Italian lobbed over a shot that caught a lucky net tape and put the set back on level terms
Even though annoyingly denied multiple opportunities on his rival's service game, Cobolli seized command of a must-win breaker to push the final set - where he once again delivered
Berrettini had earlier taken his Davis Cup individual victory run to 11 matches with an excellent display against the Spanish opponent
The former Wimbledon runner-up converted his third break point for a advantage before confidently serving out the opener to zero
Having taken 11 of the last 13 points to secure the opening set, Berrettini looked set to strengthen his hold on the contest upon forcing opportunities in the opening game of the following set
His opponent succeeded to save both before producing a series of solid service games - but the Italian took his next opportunity and closed to love to complete his victory
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