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Rafael Nadal playing for Spain in the Olympics
Wins the Gold Medal
Photo credit: www.sportsphoto.com

Above two ~ Photo credit: Marca

Photo credit: Yahoo Sport

Photo credit: 2008.sohu.com

Photo credit: Unknown

Photo credit: unknown

I post this just before I catch up on the sleep that I lost waiting all night for the Gold Medal Match to start. The match finally started at 5:25 a.m. and lasted until 7:55 a.m. for me here on the east coast of the USA. I set the alarm for 3:30 a.m. and just kept waiting and resetting the alarm. Then I still fell asleep for the first 6 games of the 3rd set. But I can rewatch it. And so can you. See just below here for the link for those of you who have access to USA's NBC website. I also had the USA cable channel on and recorded it for my personal use. But the USA channel didn't think we USA citizens enjoy Rafa enough to include the medal ceremony portion with the men's singles medal champions - just the first half of the ceremony with the women's doubles tennis champions. Boo on NBC's decision there.

Tomorrow, Rafael Nadal officially becomes the new number one in the world in men's professional tennis. He so deserves it. And he's a cutie.

The final Gold Medal score
6-3, 7-6(2), 6-3
Yes, the new Numero Uno won in straight sets!

RAFA

!!!

Gold Medal Match can be watched online at USA's NBC website
it includes the men's single medal ceremony
(after the women's double's medal ceremony):
www.nbcolympics.com

Rafael Nadal celebrates winning a point on his way to Olympic Gold
against Chilean Fernando Gonzalez.

Red-hot Rafael Nadal wins Olympic tennis singles gold

By Leo Schlink | August 17, 2008

Source

RAFAEL Nadal's global rule continues as the Spaniard yesterday added the Olympic Games gold medal to his Wimbledon and French Open trophies.

Fittingly, Nadal takes over as world No. 1 today when the new rankings are issued, replacing Roger Federer.

Nadal's extraordinary season reached new heights when he toppled Chilean Fernandez in a best-of-five set final.

The Spanish bull saved two set points in the second set, held every service game and won 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 6-3.

The gold medal was the first ever for Spain in Olympic tennis.

Nadal has won 38 of his past 39 matches.

Russian Elena Dementieva took advantage of compatriot Dina Safina's 17 double faults to claim the women's singles gold medal.

Yet to win a grand slam title, Dementieva downed Safina 3-6 7-5 6-3.

In doubles, American sisters Venus and Serena Williams won their second gold medal, beating Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual, of Spain 6-2, 6-0.

The Williams siblings won the doubles in Sydney eight years ago.

Roger Federer and Stanilas Wawrinka, of Switzerland, won the Beijing doubles gold medal.

Picture of the Olympics Tennis complex

Photo Gallery of Gold Medal Match - 23 photos

Statistics of Gold Medal Match

Nadal continues dream year by winning gold

Rafael Nadal brought the curtain down on a highly successful Olympic tennis event when he took the gold medal, beating Fernando Gonzalez 63 76(2) 63 in two hours 22 minutes. His victory leaves the medal winners featuring the biggest names in tennis, with Nadal, Roger Federer and the Williams sisters winning gold, and the Bryan twins and Novak Djokovic also claiming medals.

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Sorry about the size of this picture....maybe I'll fix it later.

But Nadal is the man of the moment. When the history of his career comes to be written, the middle part of 2008 will surely be the peak. He has won the French Open, Wimbledon and the Olympic gold medal within three months, and the way he has learned to move around a hard court means he must be a favourite for the US Open, which begins in a week’s time.

His movement was the foundation stone on which his gold medal has been built. Gonzalez played a high-quality match, running Nadal around with his big forehand and trying to hit through the court to negate Nadal’s speed. But whenever Gonzalez seemed to have opened up the court, there was Nadal to make up ridiculous amounts of ground – and he always seemed to have the right shot to play at the end of his amazing retrieving.

Gonzalez’s best chance came in the second set. He had two set points on the Nadal serve at 5-6, and should have put away a volley on the first of them at the end of a long rally. But with no time to think, he put it into the tramlines, and when he dumped a forehand into the net on the second, his chance had gone. Nadal followed up with a tiebreak that involved no errors – forced or unforced – and an early break in the third set was too much for the Chilean to make up.

“I think I played almost a perfect match, no?” said the Spaniard after the match. “I arrived here very tired after flying directly from Cincinnati. And the reason probably that I won is because I’ve had a fantastic time here enjoying a lot in the village. Thank you very much to all the Spanish athletes for coming every day to supporting me.”

The gold medal is the perfect way for Nadal to begin his time as world No 1 – he will be listed at the top of the new rankings on Monday – and his haul in 2008 could yet surpass even Roger Federer’s greatest years. A good performance at the US Open would go some way to ensuring the year-end No 1 ranking, and he could still win the Davis Cup, as Spain are favourites to beat the USA in next month’s semifinals.

But Nadal won’t have time to celebrate until after that semifinal. It has been non-stop for him since the French Open, which means there will be an awful lot to celebrate when he can finally take a break in the third week of September. Source: www.itftennis.com

Spanish gold: Nadal new Olympic champ

BEIJING (AP) -- Rafael Nadal will become No. 1 in the rankings Monday, and he is No. 1 at the Olympics.

The Spaniard 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.

Nadal was already assured of taking over the No. 1 ranking Monday for the first time, ending Roger Federer's reign after 4½ years. Nadal has won 38 of his past 39 matches, including victories over Federer in the finals at the French Open and Wimbledon. Read the full article: www.nbcolympics.com

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