Cobolli’s grit, Berrettini’s class push Italy into third straight Davis Cup final
Sometimes in tennis, it’s not about titles or rankings. It’s about sheer will. And on Friday night at the SuperTennis Arena, Flavio Cobolli had nothing left but will and it was enough to lift Italy into its third consecutive Davis Cup final.
With the weight of expectation and a baying home crowd at his back, the 23-year-old saved seven match points in a heart-pounding, 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(15) thriller over Belgium’s Zizou Bergs.
That he ended the contest with his shirt in tatters and tears in his eyes said everything. Italy, chasing a historic third straight title, is still alive.
“It’s really tough to say something about this match,” Cobolli said, barely able to gather himself after the emotional win. “We fought for our country, for this win, but in the end I realised my dream. We are in the final now… I played for all of my team, my family, and it’s one of the best days of my life.”
It had all begun in more measured tones. Matteo Berrettini, Italy’s steely-eyed veteran and a player reborn in national colors, set the tone earlier in the evening with a professional 6-3, 6-4 win over Belgium’s Raphael Collignon.
Despite missing much of the tour this season, Berrettini looked sharp and assured, extending his Davis Cup singles streak to seven matches.
The 2021 Wimbledon finalist, currently ranked No. 56, brushed aside the 86th-ranked Collignon with his trademark blend of power and poise.
He clinched the opening set with clinical serving and, though briefly broken in the second, broke back immediately before cruising to a love hold on match point. His performance felt like a masterclass in momentum control. Not flashy, but ruthlessly effective.
Italy’s hopes were riding on Berrettini’s shoulders in the absence of superstar Jannik Sinner, who opted to rest after a grueling run to the ATP Finals title last Sunday. The 23-year-old Sinner, Italy’s talisman in the 2023 and 2024 campaigns, had just outdueled Carlos Alcaraz to claim the year-end crown.
With Alcaraz sidelined by a hamstring injury sustained in that final, and Sinner sitting out, the semifinal between Italy and Belgium offered a chance for new names to step forward.
Cobolli did just that and more. Facing Bergs, the same man who had handed him his only Davis Cup loss in 2023, the stakes couldn’t have been higher. And when Bergs held a 6-4 lead in the final-set tiebreaker, the script seemed cruelly familiar. But Cobolli dug in, clawing his way out of the grave time and again.
The final breaker was a microcosm of the match itself. Wild, tense, and unrelenting. Twenty-nine points later, Cobolli sealed it. He now leads the Belgian 2-1 in their head-to-head, a stat that will matter little compared to the memory he carved into Italian tennis folklore.
With the 2-0 sweep, Italy now awaits the winner of Saturday’s semifinal between Spain and Germany. A win in the final would make Italy the first nation since the U.S. in 1971 to secure three straight Davis Cup titles — a streak that mirrors their current 13-tie winning run.
