Matteo Berrettini put Italy on the verge of a third consecutive Davis Cup final with a dominant victory over Belgium on Friday, November 21.
Berrettini defeated Raphael Collignon with scores of 6-3, 6-4 in front of 10,000 fans in Bologna.
Even without their top two singles players, Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti, Italy is aiming to win three Davis Cup titles in a row for the first time in 53 years.
Berrettini continued his strong performance by breaking serve early and building a 3-0 lead that he kept throughout the set.
Although Collignon briefly levelled second set at 2-2, Berrettini quickly regained control by saving another break point with brilliant cross-court forehand and breaking serve again.
He then maintained his advantage and served the match, securing his 10th consecutive singles win for Italy.
Speaking post-match, Berrettini said, "Pressure is a privilege. Obviously I feel the pressure, but you're playing in front of your home country, my whole family is here, we are all great friends in our team," as per BBC Sports.
He added, "It is such a special feeling for me. I take the bad feelings away and just enjoy the moment."
Later Friday, No. 22 Flavio Cobolli faced No. 43 Zizou Bergs in the second singles in the Italian city of Bologna.
Italy or Belgium meets the winner of Saturday's semifinal between Germany and Spain.
