Matteo Berrettini took two-time defending champions Italy to the brink of a third consecutive Davis Cup final with a commanding straight-set victory over Belgium's Raphael Collignon.
Backed by a passionate, sell-out crowd of 10,000 fans in Bologna, Berrettini overcame Collignon's second-set resistance as he powered to a 6-3 6-4 win.
Italy would become the first nation to reach three straight Davis Cup finals since Australia in 2001, if Flavio Cobolli can win his singles match against Zizou Bergs.
Despite the absence of the nation's top two men's singles players in world number two Jannik Sinner and the eighth-ranked Lorenzo Musetti, Italy are seeking to become the first nation to win three consecutive Davis Cup titles for 53 years.