Italy Defeat Spain To Win Third Consecutive Davis Cup

Italy defeated Spain 2-0 to win their third consecutive Davis Cup title, with Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli winning their singles matches.

Inspired by loud support from the home crowd, Berrettini dispatched Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3 6-4 in the opening match before Cobolli overcame Jaume Munar 1-6 7-6(5) 7-5 to seal the triumph for Filippo Volandri’s team.

The victory over six-times winners Spain marked Italy’s fourth Davis Cup crown overall, following wins in 1976, 2023 and 2024.

Italy also became the first nation to win three consecutive Davis Cup titles since the Challenge Round was abolished following the 1971 event.

Both teams were missing key players, with Spain deprived of Carlos Alcaraz and Italy without Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti.

But Berrettini and Cobolli rose to the occasion magnificently.

“It’s the third consecutive one. I’m crying. I didn’t cry for the first one. It’s unbelievable. This is a big, big team. Some of them not even here: Sinner, Musetti, (Matteo) Arnaldi,” Volandri said.

After a series of tight service games to start the opener, Berrettini broke Carreno Busta for a 5-3 lead and closed out the set with ease in just over 30 minutes.

With the second set finely poised at 4-4, the 2021 Wimbledon runner-up struck again at the decisive moment, breaking for a 5-4 lead before serving out the match to love.

Berrettini, ranked 56th in the world, banged down 13 aces and unleashed 21 winners as the 29-year-old extended his Davis Cup singles winning streak to 11 matches.

“The team is big, we’re guys who love each other, a big team. And now come on Flavio, go for it,” Berrettini said after his win.

The former world number six was also key to Italy’s Davis Cup success last year when he won all six matches he contested in the elite men’s team competition.

Cobolli, ranked 22nd, eventually forced a decider after a gruelling second set that lasted 90 minutes. The Italian finally converted on his seventh set point, three of which came in the tiebreak.

The drama continued into the third set, where Cobolli earned the first break at 6-5 and then served out the match with remarkable composure to complete a stunning comeback.

His triumph was followed by jubilant celebrations as his Italian teammates embraced him on the court.

The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men’s tennis.

It is organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world’s largest annual team sporting competition.