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)
Silver medallists Anabel Garrigues (2nd L) and Virginia Ruando Pascual (L) of Spain, gold medallists Venus Williams (3rd L) and Serena Williams (3rd R) of the US and bronze medallists Yan Zi (2nd R) and Jie Zheng (R) of China pose on the podium at the awards ceremony following the women's doubles tennis final during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games yesterday.
Venus and Serena Williams play together in the Olympic women's doubles and walk away with the gold medal. The famous American sisters overpowered Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain 6-2, 6-0 in an 1 hour 6 minutes match. “I’m so excited, I can’t even speak,” said the 28-year-old Venus, who has already won seven doubles Grand Slam titles and a gold medal in Sydney alongside younger sister Serena.
The pair didn’t enter the doubles competition in Athens four years ago because Serena was injured at the time. “To share this kind of moment with your sister,” Venus said, “it never grows old.”
It doesn’t hurt when your sister is one of the best in the world. “I don’t know anyone out there who would get tired of playing with Venus Williams,” said the 26-year-old Serena, who as a singles player is ranked eighth in the world, three spots behind No. 5 Venus.
“We were really focused from the first point. We really wanted to win,” said Serena, whose trophy cabinet includes 30 singles titles, eight of them Grand Slams. “We feel like we’ve contributed to our country in a huge way. That’s really what it’s all about.”
When the red carpet was rolled out on center court, the sisters climbed the medal podium together holding hands. A beaming Venus bobbed her head to the beat as “The Star-Spangled Banner” was played. Both Venus and Serena were beaten in the quarterfinals of the women's singles.The bronze medal went to China's Yan Zi and Zheng Jie who delivered the host country’s only tennis medal by beating Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-2, 6-2.(Images by BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)
(Text viaYahoo! Sports)
Gold medal winner Elena Dementieva (C) of Russia, Dinara Safina (L) and Bronze medalist Vera Zvonareva also from Russia display their medals after competing in the women's singles tennis competition at the Olympic Green Tennis Centre in Beijing today.
Dementieva wins 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, making up for her disappointment in losing the 2000 Sydney Olympic final to Venus Williams.
She clenched her fists in celebration and then wiped away tears of joy after denying the in-form Safina for the first time in four attempts this year.
I would say that Safina has temper that is very much like her brother. After double-faults she flung her racket, banged it against the concrete and smacked a ball into the stands, but the tantrums failed to help.
When Dementieva closed out her victory with a forehand winner, she collapsed to her knees, then walked to net and received a congratulatory hug from Safina. Dementieva snapped Safina’s 15-match winning streak. “I never expected a medal—gold, silver or bronze,” said Dementieva, 26. “It’s unbelievable. For me this is the best moment in my career. I’ll never forget it.”
(Images by BEHROUZ MEHRI/PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images)
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.
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. 
