Flavio Cobolli sent Italy to the Davis Cup final in the most dramatic of fashions on Friday night in front of the home crowd in Bologna.
Cobolli and Belgium’s Zizou Bergs saved seven match points apiece before the Italian finally converted the 15th opportunity overall for a 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(15) triumph. The thrilling semifinal rubber lasted three hours and four minutes, resulting in a 2-0 sweep for the host nation. It was preceded by Matteo Berrettini’s 6-3, 6-4 victory over Raphael Collignon.
Bergs saved two match points at 4-5 in the third set before fighting off five more in the tiebreaker. Cobolli, who trailed 6-4 in the ‘breaker, thwarted multiple match points on Bergs’ own serve. The world No. 22 eventually put an end to the borderline unbelievable theatrics at 16-15 with a huge service winner.
“It’s really tough to say something about this match,” Cobolli said during his on-court interview. “We played for our country and we fought a lot for this win. In the end I realized my dream, and we are in the final now. I played an amazing match against a great opponent. I’m really happy about it. Of course I played for all of my team, for all of my family, for me…. Yeah, it’s one of the best days of my life.”
“I think this match you only have in Davis Cup,” captain Filippo Volandri commented. “We saw two great players fight for their country. They both did an unbelievable job. Only one had to win. In the end, we did it.”
The Italians await either Germany or Spain in the final on Sunday. They will be going for a Davis Cup three-peat, having lifted the trophy in both 2023 and 2024 when the Davis Cup Finals were held in Malaga, Spain.
nice one, Cobo