BOLOGNA, Italy — Davis Cup champion Italy’s reign shows no signs of ending.
And this time, the Italians didn’t even need Jannik Sinner to keep their crown firmly in place.
Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli shined in the absence of missing star Sinner, both winning their singles matches to earn an unassailable 2-0 lead over Spain in the final on Sunday.
Italy’s third consecutive David Cup title is the country’s fourth overall in the top international event for men’s team tennis.
The last nation to win three straight titles was the United States, which won five on the bounce from 1968-72.
Sinner, who is currently ranked second on the ATP Tour and at age 24 already owns four Grand Slam tournament titles, led Italy to the trophy the past two years. Coming off a repeat title at the ATP Finals last weekend in Turin, he opted out of playing in the team competition, preferring to prepare for next season instead.
Eighth-ranked Lorenzo Musetti wasn’t playing, either, but Italy didn’t need them, winning all three of its matches 2-0 in the SuperTennis Arena. The Italians eliminated Austria in the quarterfinals and Belgium in the semifinals.
Spain was also without its star player: top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, the 22-year-old with six Grand Slam tournament titles who lost to Sinner in the ATP Finals championship showdown.
In Sunday’s final, Berrettini beat Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-4 before Cobolli fought back to beat Jaume Munar 1-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5 and clinch the winning point — as he did all three times over the past week. Cobolli dropped his racket to the ground and was lifted in the air by his teammates.
Italy’s first Davis Cup title came in 1976 in Santiago, Chile, before wins the past two years in Malaga, Spain. This is the first time the Italians have won on home soil.
Six-time champion Spain was playing in the title match for the first time since 2019.