Italy captain Filippo Volandri revealed that he was reduced to tears after helping Italy secure a third consecutive Davis Cup triumph with a 2-0 victory against Spain in the final.
Italy’s Matteo Berrettini defeated Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3 6-4 in the opening match before Flavio Cobolli battled back from a set down to beat Jaume Munar 1-6 7-6(5) 7-5.
That meant that Italy secured their third Davis Cup in a row without contesting the doubles match, which would have seen Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori take on the Spanish duo of Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martinez.
Volandri said that helping his country to a third successive title made him more emotional than winning his first.
“It’s the third one in a row, but I’m crying, and I didn’t cry for the first one,” he said.
“It’s something unbelievable. We had a lot of tough moments, even if it doesn’t look like [it], but we had it.
“But as a group, what I said, we had the power to manage these moments. We felt also the players that were not here, but it was like they were here, like Jannik, like [Matteo] Arnaldi, like [Lorenzo] Musetti.
“It’s a big, big team and only if you have a big team, you can reach this unbelievable result. It’s incredible.”
Jannik Sinner played a key role in Italy’s Davis Cup wins in 2023 and 2024, but he did not take part in this year’s final after withdrawing to prepare for the 2026 Australian Open.
However, the world No. 2 was among the first to congratulate his compatriots after their win.
“Congratulations on this incredible victory,” he posted on his Instagram story.
Italy beat The Netherlands to lift the trophy in 2024, having stormed to a 2-0 victory against Australia the year before.
Cobolli admitted he did not have the words to describe how he felt after sealing Italy’s win with his triumph over Munar.
“It’s impossible to describe this feeling, it’s impossible,” Cobolli said.
“I dreamed a lot for this night. I played an amazing match today. I don’t know how I won. The match was tough.
“Jaume played so good. We cannot lose for our country. Sometimes you learn, but you never lose.
“If you give all you have in your heart… I don’t know what I did today. I don’t know where I am. The only thing I know is that I’m world champion.”
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