Italy wins the final against Spain and claims its fourth Davis Cup title. The absence of exceptional player Jannik Sinner is not noticeable.
Flavio Cobolli threw his racket away in disbelief and was then buried in a jubilant pile by his teammates: Italy’s tennis team celebrated its third consecutive Davis Cup title even without top star Jannik Sinner. The hosts prevailed 2-0 against Spain in the final in Bologna in front of a rousing crowd, winning the traditional international tournament for the fourth time overall. The absence of Wimbledon winner Sinner and top 10 player Lorenzo Musetti was hardly noticeable.
Tennis: Italy’s pure dominance
Cobolli and former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini stepped into the breach to guarantee success. The Italian number three and number six (according to the world rankings) won all their singles matches in the final round, while the top doubles pair Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolelli did not have to play in Bologna.
Italy thus underlined its dominance in world tennis: in September, the Italian women had already won the Billie Jean King Cup for the second time in a row. In addition, Sinner dominates the ATP Tour together with world number one Carlos Alcaraz (Spain).
In the Davis Cup, the last time three or more consecutive titles were won was by the USA more than 50 years ago (five titles from 1968 to 1973).
Davis Cup: Alcaraz out with injury
The Spanish, who had to do without the injured Alcaraz and knocked out the German team led by top player Alexander Zverev on Saturday, will have to wait for their seventh Davis Cup triumph. For the Iberians, it was their first final in the prestigious team competition since winning the title in 2019.
In the atmospheric “SuperTennis Arena” in Hall 37 of the BolognaFiere exhibition center, the Italians got off to a perfect start in the final. Spurred on by thousands of fans, Berrettini took the lead with a confident 6-3, 6-4 victory over Pablo Carreno Busta.
“The Davis Cup is all about winning. I got the day off to a great start,” said Berrettini. Cobolli then sealed the third consecutive title with a hard-fought 1-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 victory over Jaume Munar.
Sinner, who had been instrumental in the Davis Cup triumphs of the previous two years, was not missed as expected. The South Tyrolean had taken an early and well-deserved vacation after his second title at the ATP Finals, causing some discontent – but it was still enough for the home triumph.