Rafael Nadal was crowned in China with a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics and will also overtake Roger Federer as No.1 in world tennis rankings.
Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal, 22, is having the best year of his career: he won the French and Wimbledon Opens in June, beating Roger Federer of Switzerland. Now, he will add two more achievements. He
won the Olympic gold medal in the tennis singles event today. And also he will be the official No. 1 in the world.
Nadal beat Chilean Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 in straight sets. Novak Djokvic from Serbia won the bronze medal.
The gold medal match lasted two hours and 22 minutes.
Winning the Olympic gold medal has been very hard for top-ranked tennis players. The closest was Andre Agassi in 1996 Olympics in Athens, when he won the gold medal ranked No. 6 in the world. Federer has tried the past few Olympics but has never won the gold medal and Nadal seems to be the only exception.
Rafael Nadal also stayed with other Spanish athletes in the village and preferred to enjoy the Olympic experience more instead of staying in luxury hotels outside.
The only consolation for Roger Federer was when he won the doubles event in Beijing with fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka.
In the woman’s singles, Elena Dementieva won the gold medal against fellow Russian Dinara Safina.
In the woman’s doubles, the Williams’ sisters won the final event handily.
Rafael Nadal: No.1 in Olympics and in the World
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