Another triumph for Italian tennis: the Azzurri win the Davis Cup for the third consecutive time and make history.
In the final in Bologna, Spain was beaten 3-0 with singles victories by Matteo Berrettini over Carreno Busta (6-3 6-4) and by Flavio Cobolli, who came from behind to win 2-1 over Jaume Munar (1-6, 7-6, 7-5).
President Binaghi was elated, having sounded the charge the day before: " We're winning to give Pietrangeli strength ." Immediately after the victory, he commented: "Sinner was right. He said we didn't need him because we had a great team. And that's exactly what happened."
This is the fourth time Italy has won the Davis Cup in its history, 49 years after their first success in 1976 in Chile. Without the Martian Jannik, the new generation of phenomena has found in the more earthly Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli, the former redemptionist in his maturity and the latter in his breakthrough, the idols of an exciting escalation, in the stadium-like celebration that took place in the arena at the Bologna fair in support of the national team.
And the lesson is that you can win, and you do win, even without the South Tyrolean and without the other big name withdrawing, Lorenzo Musetti.
In Bologna, Filippo Volandri's national team didn't concede a single match to their opponents: against Austria, Belgium, and finally Spain, there was never a need for doubles to close out the game. Berrettini and Cobolli, who grew up learning to play on the same courts in the capital, immediately found the perfect connection with the Super Tennis Arena crowd, who inspired them, encouraged them, and ultimately led them to triumph.
The experienced Berrettini had a smooth final. Young Cobolli, however, struggled once again and needed a comeback and another epic marathon, after the grueling one against Belgian Bergs in the semifinals, to finally break into celebration: "It's always been my dream, and now that I'm in the middle of it, I haven't achieved it yet," were his first words to the microphones.
At a time when the national soccer team is struggling, the tennis team confirms it's living through an unforgettable era. And federal president Angelo Binaghi spoke of "a great team" and a "gamble won," not only for the Bologna-based organization. Regarding Davis Cup, he said, "we own the rights; we acquired them precisely to convince RAI, even under very favorable conditions, to begin granting us the same rights as the national soccer team. I believe that Cobolli, with all due respect, should have equal rights and opportunities to make himself known to all Italians."
"For the third consecutive season," said CONI President Luciano Buonfiglio , "Italy has risen to the top of the world in Davis Cup and for the second time also in the Billie Jean King Cup. Congratulations to captain Filippo Volandri, Lorenzo Sonego, Andrea Vavassori, Simone Bolelli, and the two key players on the court, Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli. We will never forget the emotions of these days."
(Unioneonline)