RAFAEL NADAL WILL PLAY IN OLYMPICS FINAL THE DAY BEFORE OFFICIALLY BECOMING NO. 1

Photos of Rafael Nadal August 15, 2008 winning in Semi Final against Novak Djokovic
Photo credit: ITF

Photo credit: AS

Photo credits of above 3 photos: Getty

Rafael plays in the Olympic Final against Fernando Gonzalez
Sunday August 17, 2008 4:00 p.m. Beijing time
That is 4:00 a.m. USA EST

See the Final LIVE online at www.nbcolympics.com

The USA TV channel is showing the Bronze medal match Saturday around 6:00 a.m. USA EST after the women's Semi Final match. That is followed by the gold medal men's doubles match with Roger Federer playing.

USA channel will also probably show Rafa's match live also Sunday morning.

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See this until it is removed from Youtube
Rafael Nadal wins over Novak Djokovic with 6-4, 1-6, 6-4
Olympic Semi Final August 15, 2008
Uploaded by Blazaryou

Audio Rafa interview July 24, 2008~ MP3 ~ This is worth a listen!

Same Audio Rafa interview before the Olympics started in different formats

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Beijing Olympics: Rafael Nadal is star attraction in the Olympic village
If Rafael Nadal had ever wondered what it might be like as the world No 1,
he found out in Beijing.

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Nadal to face Gonzalez

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Beijing Games
Nadal beats Djokovic in semifinals

Bruce Arthur in Beijing, National Post Published: Friday, August 15, 2008

Source: www.nationalpost.com

Maybe like a knockoff Swiss watch bought in Beijing's Silk Market, we cannot count on Roger Federer anymore. Maybe, after a period of nearly flawless operation - the kind of performance you could set your watch to, in fact - it is time for a new watch. Maybe the Rolex of the sport has finally fallen apart.

That comparison is certainly not fair to Federer - he is no knockoff, but rather the real thing. But he has now lost four of his past eight matches, and has spent all of 2008 in a relative slump. And so last night's semi-finals matchup between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at the Olympic Games was a chance to see the man who becomes No. 1 on Monday, and the man who, barring a Federer renaissance, seems the most likely man to chase him.

Last night, Nadal remained the man to beat. In a tense and thrilling semi-final, Nadal prevailed 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 to reach the gold medal match. The Spaniard has won almost everything else this year, so it seems fitting.

The end, though, was unexpected. Djokovic was serving at 4-5 to stay in the match, and after saving a match point with a booming forehand, faced another. But he controlled the point, pushing Nadal almost to the back wall. Finally, Nadal chased yet another would-be winner down and popped it up. Djokovic readied for a smash.

But Nadal's persistence forced him to try to angle it, and he angled it too far. Just like that, the match was done.

Nadal will face Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, who outlasted James Blake 4-6, 7-5, 11-9, in the gold medal game. Gonzalez, the 12th seed here, won a bronze in Athens in 2004.

This semi, meanwhile, was like a wrestling match. In the first set Nadal was stronger, breaking Djokovic twice, hitting the ball harder, moving better. In the second set, Djokovic's scythe-like groundstrokes performed the difficult trick of pushing Nadal around.

Then came the third, and the end.

When these two play the ball simply moves differently than it does for other players. For other guys, the ball shouts. For these guys, it screams. When Blake and Gonzalez were exchanging torpid baseline rallies that seemed set on a loop, the Chinese-dominated crowd here laughed. During this match, they gasped.

Against other players, Nadal mentally wins the match as much as he does with his racquet. But one reason Djokovic has gotten this far is that in addition to his talent, he is fearless. After losing the first set, he got better, rather than worse. The list of players who have subdued Nadal since the second week of May has one name, and it's Serbian.

It still seems probable that tennis is a three-man dance, Federer's bad year notwithstanding.

"I think his results, considered being bad this year, is a product of how high his level has been," said Blake after upsetting Federer in the quarter-finals here. "Similar to Tiger Woods. When they don't win every single week, it's called a bad year.

"You know, I've been unbelievably impressed at how he's handled that for four straight years, that every single time he goes on the court, he's battling history. He's not just facing an opponent that has absolutely nothing to lose; he's facing Pete Samprases, Bjorn Borgs, the records of so many before him. I honestly don't know how he's dealt with that for so long. I think almost anyone in the world would crack under that pressure, and he never has."

No, but he might be faltering. Perhaps a more regimented year, without the mononucleosis that afflicted him early, or the Olympics that rearranged the schedule late, will fix Federer. But just because it is a three-man dance, that doesn't mean he's guaranteed to be dancing in the first two.

During the third set, with the score 5-4 Nadal, a volunteer toured the press seating with a sign saying that Federer was in the interview room after reaching the doubles final with Swiss countryman Stanislas Wawrinka. Federer can still win gold here. But he can't do it alone.

National Post

VAMOS RAFA!

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Just fun!
Uploaded by serenitylivesforever

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Not for fun
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Day 8: The Closing Ceremony

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Think for a moment about all the time, money and effort that has been spent to stage the Beijing Games. Now think about the time, money and effort that has been spent, over the same time period, to help the people of Darfur.

In our closing ceremony, we juxtapose images from Darfur - showing the anguish underwritten by China - with images from the promotional materials for the Olympics. The disparity could not be greater.

Now that China's complicity in the Darfur slaughter is known to all the world, we invite you to help us keep the pressure on China to bring security to Darfur. Please visit the organizations featured throughout the Darfur Olympics to find ways to take action. To stay involved with Dream for Darfur, sign up for the newsletter

Support Darfuri Diaspora Groups

Many of those in the Darfuri Diaspora community hope to provide better lives for family and friends still living in Darfur and Eastern Chad. Darfuri Diaspora groups provide support for the Darfuri population with an array of services from humanitarian aid to assistance with resettlement in the United States. Please visit the websites of these groups to support their vital work:

Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy
The Darfur People's Association of New York
Darfur Alert Coalition
Darfur Association of the United States
Darfur Peace and Development

www.darfuolympics.org