BOLOGNA, Italy (AP) — Two-time defending champion Italy reached the Davis Cup final after Flavio Cobolli beat Zizou Bergs of Belgium 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (15) after saving seven match points in a dramatic semifinal on Friday.
After wasting several match points, Cobolli ripped off his shirt and celebrated with his teammates . He eventually went to comfort Bergs, who was consoled by his team as he cried on his chair.
Cobolli gave Italy an unassailable 2-0 lead without needing the doubles contest.
Italy is riding a 13-tie winning streak and meets the winner of Saturday’s semifinal between Germany and Spain, which is without injured No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz.
Earlier, Matteo Berrettini beat Raphael Collignon 6-3, 6-4 to help Italy on its way.
Neither Belgian has won a singles title on the men’s tour. But the No. 43-ranked Bergs played like it was the biggest match of his life against No. 22 Cobolli, who had the crowd behind him in Bologna.
From 3-3 in the second set tiebreaker Bergs found his range and leveled the match with a forehand to the back of the court which Cobolli returned long.
The players then swapped and missed match point chances, with Cobolli eventually triumphing with a service winner that Bergs could only just get his racket on.
It was a more comfortable match for Berrettini, a 2021 Wimbledon runner-up with 10 singles titles on the tour.
He clinched the first set on serve against No. 86 Collignon.
Collignon dropped his opening serve of the second set but he broke back for 2-2. Berrettini withstood aggressive shot-making to break for 4-3 and won on his first match point with a love hold.
The Davis Cup Final 8 is the sixth edition of the revamped event that has the champion decided at a neutral site. ___
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
The Associated Press
