14 match points came and went in a wild back-and-forth final set of Flavio Cobolli’s 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(15) victory over Zizou Bergs on Friday in Bologna, as the Italian team answered the bell in the most dramatic fashion to reach the Davis Cup Finals for a third consecutive year.
Two-time defending champions Italy defeated Belgium 2-0 to reach the final, but the score of Friday’s tie does nothing to describe the sheer drama that unfolded in Friday’s second rubber at the SuperTennis Arena in Bologna.
Cobolli and Bergs battled across a wild 94-minute final set to keep Italy’s three-peat hopes alive, the team displaying its depth without the services of Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti to set a final with the winner of Saturday’s semifinal between Spain and Germany.
“At the end I realized my dream,” Cobolli said. “We are in the final now. It is one of the best days of my life.”
Earlier on Friday it was Matteo Berrettini who came through to defeat Raphael Collignon in the first tie of Friday’s semifinal.
“It’s all about fighting for your country and for your team, and that’s what I’m doing right now,” Berrettini said after his 6-3, 6-4 win.
“Pressure is a privilege, right?” Berrettini said. “My whole family is here, which never happens, my teammates, we are such good friends, it’s such a special moment for me. Just enjoy the moment, that’s the secret.”
Bergs and Cobolli’s Classic
No one had any idea what was in store for them when the second-set tiebreak between Cobolli and Bergs commenced. Would it be the Italian in straights? He was certainly playing well enough to do it, but credit Bergs, who showed enormous heart and passion in this contest to win the breaker and force a third set.
Soon the pair would find themselves weaving another chapter into the annals of Davis Cup history with a dramatic finish that went far beyond expectations.
Bergs saved a pair of match points while serving at 4-5 in the third, bravely swatting aside the immense pressure to play with clarity and keep himself alive – it was just the beginning.
He nearly jumped ahead in the next game but Cobolli answered the bell by saving a break point as Bergs went for a backhand down the line winner that missed well wide of the sideline.
Bergs had a pair of match points in the tiebreak at 6-4, but ripped a forehand long on the first – perhaps he was a bit too eager to win it.
Cobolli made a second serve and lured Bergs into a backhand error to level at 6-all.
Two match points had come and gone for both at this point, and the dueling fan bases in Bologna were screaming for a third as the pair went to a second change of ends in the final set tiebreak.
Cobolli missed a forehand wide, giving Bergs a third match point on serve, at 7-6.
It was Cobolli’s time to shine as he progressed through a lengthy point and finally finished it with a crosscourt smash off the back foot – a tremendous play given the pressure of the moment.
7-7, but a big serve gave Bergs a fourth match point, which was then saved by a big serve by Cobolli, 8-8. Another service winner, out wide, gave Cobolli a third match point and released a collective growl of delight from the Italian fans.
Bergs would not be denied. He yanked a backhand crosscourt and snuck in to make an extraordinary volley winner. A third match point saved by the Belgian, 9-9.
A smash down the middle gave Bergs his fifth match point on Cobolli’s serve, which was quickly saved by the Italian with a serve plus one forehand winner down the middle. 10-10. Cobolli had another match point, with Bergs serving at 10-11, but the Belgian was too good from the baseline. 11-11.
Cobolli’s fifth match point turned out to be another chance for Bergs to raise his level. He played a magnificent baseline point and ripped an inside-out winner to level at 12.
Wow.
Five match points had come and gone for both, the crowd was now whipped into a frenzy between points.
They got louder as Cobolli reached a sixth match point, but it went begging as a Bergs first-serve found the line down the T for a winner. 13-13.
Cobolli then saved a sixth match point with a big serve, for 14-all, but then missed a drive volley long to give Bergs a seventh match point, behind his serve.
No such luck for the Belgian, who was seen at his bench in tears after the drama had unfolded. For every winner in Davis Cup, there must be a heartbroken loser.
Finally, it would be Cobolli who found the dagger. He won Bergs’ final two service points then converted his seventh match point on serve to close the epic battle after 12 match points saved in the tiebreak, and fourteen across the final set.
