Silver medallist Fernando Gonzalez (L) of Chile, gold medallist Rafael Nadal (C) of Spain and bronze medallist Noval Djokovic (R) of Serbia pose together on the podium during the awards ceremony following Nadal's victory over Gonzalez in their men's singles gold medal final tennis match during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on Sunday.Today, Rafael Nadal is the official ATP world no.1 tennis player in the world! Vamos Rafa!!!!!!!!!!!! (By the way this is my 100 posts for Nadal, the first one way back in 2005!)
Back to the Olympic final, Rafael Nadal who owns the night stood in front of the medal podium, his nation’s flag draped across his back like a cape, he looked like a Spanish Superman. At least in tennis, he is the superhero to many fans.
Already assured of the No. 1 ranking, Nadal was No. 1 at the Olympics. He won a gold medal Sunday, overcoming two set points in the second set and holding every service game to beat Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-3. The gold medal was the first ever for Spain in Olympic tennis, and another milestone in an astounding summer surge by Nadal, who will officially end Roger Federer’s 41/2-year reign atop the rankings Monday.
Nadal has won 38 of his past 39 matches, including victories over Federer in the finals at the French Open and Wimbledon.
“Nowhere in my best dreams I can imagine something like what I did this year,” Nadal said. “I know how difficult it is to win these things, and especially here, because you only have one chance every four years.”(Images by PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images)
