Flavio Cobolli enjoyed one of the best nights of his life, sending Italy through to their third Davis Cup final in a row.
After Matteo Berrettini defeated Raphael Collignon in the opening match, attention switched to Cobolli, who needed to beat Zizou Bergs to secure the win for Italy over Belgium.
Winning the first set 6-3, things were looking good for Cobolli until the Belgian fought back, taking the second in a tiebreaker, 7-6 [7-5].
The third set was one for the ages, as Cobolli and Bergs engaged in a back-and-forth tiebreak, saving countless match points.
Eventually, it was the Italian who emerged victorious, 6-3, 6-7 [5-7], 7-6 [17-15], winning the sixth-longest tiebreaker in Davis Cup history.
Celebrating wildly, Cobolli ripped his shirt in true Novak Djokovic fashion, taking in the applause from his adoring home fans.
During his post-match press conference, Cobolli was asked if he drew inspiration from his favorite player, Djokovic, when celebrating.
Flavio Cobolli says he wasn’t trying to be like Novak Djokovic during Davis Cup celebrations
The Italian number three insisted he wasn’t imitating Djokovic in the aftermath of his win over Bergs.
“No, the celebration was about Flavio, not about Nole,” said Cobolli.
“Yeah, he’s my favorite player. But today I felt that I was trying to be like Hulk.
“At the end I’m doing gym every day…
Cobolli then shared a few jokes with his captain, Filippo Volandri, about his physique.
“He’s happy about…” said Volandri.
“I’m in the shape, so… Just show, yeah,” replied Cobolli.
“He walks from the locker with the T-shirt high,” added Volandri.
“He wants to show us he works out in the gym.”
However, Cobolli isn’t planning on repeating the celebration.
“But it’s the last time,” he said.
There may yet be more reasons to celebrate, though, as Italy prepare for their third consecutive Davis Cup final.
The last 10 Davis Cup champions
Led by Jannik Sinner in 2023 and 2024, Italy won both finals 2-0, making light work of Australia and the Netherlands.
2023 Davis Cup F – Italy vs Australia
| Match | Winner | Loser | Score |
| 1 | Matteo Arnaldi (Italy) | Alexei Popyrin (Australia) | Italy (1-0) Australia |
| 2 | Jannik Sinner (Italy) | Alex de Minaur (Australia) | Italy (2-0) Australia |
| 3 (Not needed) | – | – | Italy (2-0) Australia |
2024 Davis Cup F – Italy vs The Netherlands
| Match | Winner | Loser | Score |
| 1 | Matteo Berrettini (Italy) | Botic van de Zandschulp (The Netherlands) | Italy (1-0) The Netherlands |
| 2 | Jannik Sinner (Italy) | Tallon Griekspoor (The Netherlands) | Italy (2-0) The Netherlands |
| 3 (Not needed) | – | – | Italy (2-0) The Netherlands |
If they were to repeat the feat in 2025, without two of their best players, Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti, then Italy would surely stake their claim as the greatest Davis Cup side of all time.
Is this current Italy team the greatest-ever Davis Cup team?
However, victory is far from assured, as they will face a tough test against either Spain or Germany in the final…
Who would provide a tougher challenge for Italy? Germany or Spain
Neither Spain nor Germany had an easy time of things in the quarterfinals, as both sides fought back from a 1-0 deficit to advance.
2025 Davis Cup QF – Spain vs Czechia
| Match | Winner | Loser | Score |
| 1 | Jakub Mensik (Czechia) | Pablo Carreno Busta (Spain) | Spain (0-1) Czechia |
| 2 | Jaume Munar (Spain) | Jiri Lehecka (Czechia) | Spain (1-1) Czechia |
| 3 | Pedro Martinez/Marcel Granollers (Spain) | Jakub Mensik/Tomas Machac (Czechia) | Spain (2-1) Czechia |
2025 Davis Cup QF – Germany vs Argentina
| Match | Winner | Loser | Score |
| 1 | Tomas Martin Etcheverry (Argentina) | Jan-Lennard Struff (Germany) | Germany (0-1) Argentina |
| 2 | Alexander Zverev (Germany) | Francisco Cerundolo (Argentina) | Germany (1-1) Argentina |
| 3 | Kevin Krawietz/Tim Putz (Germany) | Andres Molteni/Horacio Zeballos (Argentina) | Germany (2-1) Argentina |
It’s tough to gauge which side would provide the toughest challenge for Italy, although it’s hard to look past Germany and their star man, Alexander Zverev.
The world number three is the only top-20 player still in the competition and has proven his class on indoor hard courts over the years.
He also has a winning head-to-head record against Italy’s two singles players, Berrettini and Cobolli.
- Alexander Zverev (2-0) Flavio Cobolli
- Alexander Zverev (4-3) Matteo Berrettini
It remains to be seen if Italy will indeed take on Germany in the final, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action.
The second semifinal, between Germany and Spain, will take place on Saturday, November 22, with the winner advancing to face Italy on Sunday, November 23.
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