Matteo Berrettini was right, quoting Checco Zalone: ​​”We are a very strong team”. Italtennis wins the Davis Cup, its third in a row, the fourth overall, the first won on national soil. Obtained in Bologna, also thanks to the support of the public, but “made in Rome”, thanks to the magical duo Berrettini-Cobolli, lifelong friends who eliminated – without the cruel necessity of the doubles play-off – Austria, Belgium and Spain in succession.

Berrettini a certainty

The former Wimbledon finalist is a solid certainty: eleventh consecutive victory with the blue shirt. If Cobolli tears it up causing some annoyance, “the hammer” has sewn it on himself and will be remembered forever as a great “Davis man”. Of course, Carreno Busta is the distant relative of the one who, years ago, caused trouble even for the best Djokovic (and in fact he slipped to 89th place in the ranking). But Zverev’s Germany failed, with this very mangy tennis player who for a long time was a nightmare due to his ability to send back everything and more. Cobolli, exhausted after the stupendous semi-final (he didn’t sleep until 3 in the morning, not exactly the best), digested a shocking start, and in the second set he stepped up his game. The Iberian Munar, put under pressure, clung to the serve, trying to contain the defense. The dam overflowed at 5-5 in the third set, when Cobolli pushed courageously. Here we serve the 2-6 7-6 7-5 which gives us the cup.

If we leave the no. at home. 26 in the world (without Sinner and Musetti…)

The protagonists of this Davis have always given the impression of believing in the third salad bowl in a row, especially when Carlos Alcaraz gave up. It was enough to look at the numbers, the ATP rankings, the coat of arms and the lineage. A team, the Italian one, that allows itself to leave Luciano Darderi, number 26, at home, means that it is well, that it has a rich family. The opposite of the national football team, forced to go and collect natives from around the world, to beg them to help the (desperate) cause. Berrettini in blue, as we said, it’s hot as a stove. Two years ago, not called up, he was the expedition’s first fan. Now he is the cornerstone of this national team, the example to follow. The blue shirt takes pressure off him: he feels like a tennis player on a mission.

With Sinner, of course, we would have been unplayable. The final with Spain, however, was played on equal terms: Jannik and Carlos were out, but also the number 2s, who today are Lorenzo Musetti (9th in the world) and Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina (14th). It is always an eternal Italy-Spain, with Turin and Bologna welcoming the victories of Sinner (at the ATP Finals) and of Filippo Volandri’s team, this time in the Emilian capital, but triumphant for two years in Malaga.

Okay, it’s not the Davis Cup of your fathers, the one of the red shirt worn in Santiago de Chile under the Pinochet regime and of the trips to Australia and the USA. It’s Davis these days, the only one possible. Mistreated by the top ten tennis players in the world even when it is “resolved” in a Final Eight which involves three days of competition, spread over five, in Bologna, three hours away by train from Turin, home of the ATP Finals. It is truly the only one that world tennis can offer and Italy is its absolute dominator.

The victory of an entire movement

That of 2025, the third Davis in a row, is the victory – more than others – of an entire movement that has carefully planned. The concept has been overused in the past. Sinner is a miracle: an athlete, a sportsman, who happens once in a generation, in just one discipline. He cannot be built with programming: he is the sum of talent, physique, perseverance and character. In cycling, Tadej Pogacar was born not many kilometers beyond the Italian border, in Slovenia. Jannik Sinner, fortunately, over here. But this victory yes, it is truly the success of the Italian tennis movement, capable of winning the Davis Cup with “reserves”, even if luxury ones. A federation that was able, twenty years ago, to rebuild a sport and today finds itself, in the men’s field, with a series of extraordinary athletes, who are the envy of everyone.

There are many contributing factors. First of all, the courts, which have increased significantly throughout almost the entire peninsula (recently somewhat threatened by the padel boom). Then, the teachers: he trained more and better, in a widespread manner throughout the territory. Tennis schools are very important. There are provincial, regional and macro area trustees who monitor the situation. Also useful is the presence of a free-to-air channel, “Super Tennis” which broadcasts many matches every day. It is easier for a boy or girl to become passionate about and choose this sport. In short, a sport that enjoys excellent health and currently has only one problem: trying not to further damage the Davis Cup it has just won.