A stunning 32 third set tie break that ended at 17-15 in favour of Flavio Cobolli put the crowd in Bologna into hysterics and the Italian national tennis team into the Davis Cup final for the third straight time.

They defeated Belgium 2-0 in the semi-finals on Friday, having previously overpowered Austria in the quarter-finals with Cobolli and countryman Matteo Berrettini both posting straight-set victories in that tie.

In the semi-finals, Cobolli survived a wonderful match against Belgium’s Zizou Berg 6-3 6-7(5) 7-6 (17-15), with Berrettini, who has now won 10-straight Davis Cup matches, sweeping aside Raphael Collignon in straight sets.

The Italians are the two-time defending Davis Cup champions and will go for the three-peat on Sunday against the winner of Saturday’s tie between Germany and Spain. If they pull it off, they’ll be the first nation to accomplished the feat the United States did it from 1969 through 1970.

The last nation to go to three straight Davis Cup finals before Italia was Australian from 1999 to 2001. However, the men from down under only managed to win one of those three ties.

The best part is the Italians are missing their top-two ranked players, both of whom are in the world top ten. Number-2 Jannik Sinner and number-8 Lorenzo Musetti.

The dynamic duo of Cobolli and Berrettini may not be top-10 in the world rankings right now, but they show a passion that makes them top-two in our hearts.

If it wasn’t plainly obvious by now, the Davis Cup is the world cup of tennis. However, this International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament is an annual event featuring 150 nations competing year round.

There is qualifying, zonal groups, rankings that determine where your nation begins each year, and of course the final eight tournament. For my Canadian peeps, the Great North Strong and Free has been to five of the final tournaments, finishing as runners-up in 2019 and winning the Cup in 2022.

It’s an amazing event where lesser-known tennis stars can shoot to stardom with stunning upsets, while established players can come together as a team to represent something bigger than themselves.

In a sport that is mostly about the individuals, with all due respect to the doubles specialists in the world, this team-first mentality is quite refreshing.

There is an intense passion put into each and every match, especially from the European nations, that you just don’t see as much in a regular tournament. It’s why so many people, even casual sports fans, actually pay attention to the Davis Cup.

My only lament this year is that none of the major sports networks or streaming apps in Canada picked up the rights.

Thankfully, the ITF is live streaming the Davis Cup at Daviscup.com, however there is a fee to watch. The final takes place Sunday at 9 a.m. EST. It’s worth checking out!

Thanks for reading! Ciao for Now!