Cobolli sends defending two-time champion Italy into Davis Cup final

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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 six match points of his own, Cobolli finally got Italy over the line. He ripped off his shirt and celebrated with his teammates and eventually went to comfort Bergs, who was consoled by his team as he cried on his chair.

The 17-15 final set tiebreak was the sixth longest in Davis Cup history.

“We fought for our country, for this win, but in the end I realized my dream,” Cobolli said. “I played for all of my team, my family, and it's one of the best days of my life.”

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.

Cobolli jumped into the arms of team captain Filippo Volandri, who somehow managed to look calm throughout the rollercoaster tiebreaker.

“In my five years as a captain I've never seen anything like that. But this is what Davis Cup does, it was incredible,” Volandri said. "At the end, I told (Cobolli) it's 5% tactics and 95% heart.”

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