Italy wins Davis Cup for third straight year by beating Spain in final

BOLOGNA, Italy (AP) — Italy remains the king of the Davis Cup – and didn’t even need Jannik Sinner this time.

Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli were the stars for the Italians without the absent Sinner, both winning their singles matches to earn an unassailable 2-0 lead over Spain in the final on Sunday.

It’s a fourth Davis Cup title for Italy, and a third in a row. The last nation to win three straight titles was the United States, which won five on the bounce from 1968-72.

The second-ranked Sinner, who led Italy to men's tennis biggest team trophy the past two years, opted out of playing this week, preferring to prepare for next season instead.

Italy didn’t need him, winning all three of its matches 2-0 this week after eliminating Austria in the quarterfinals and Belgium in the semifinals.

In the 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.

Spain reached the title match for the first time since 2019 but was also without its star player, top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz.