Beijing 2008 - Stunning Nadal wins Olympic gold

Eurosport.yahoo.com - Sun, 17 Aug 16:58:00 2008
Rafael Nadal of Spain added an Olympic tennis gold to the French Open and Wimbledon titles he has won this year, powering to a 6-3 7-6 6-3 victory over Chile's Fernando Gonzalez in the men's singles.
Nadal was simply red hot in the first set but got lucky in the second when Gonzalez, who stood toe-to-toe with the 22-year-old tyro, fluffed an easy backhand volley on set point.
The ruthless Nadal needed no second invitation and moved in for the kill as Gonzalez began to buckle.
Gonzalez gamely hung on at 2-5 in the third set, saving three match points, but it was only delaying the inevitable and Nadal converted his fourth chance in the next game.
"It's very difficult to win this because you only have one chance every four years," Nadal said afterwards.
"I played almost a perfect match."
Nadal, who will end Roger Federer's four-and-a-half year reign as world number one on Monday, is the first Spaniard to win an Olympic gold in tennis.
The 28-year-old Gonzalez now has the full set of Olympic medals after his doubles victory in Athens four years ago, when he also took bronze in singles.
Who knows what might have happened if, after matching Nadal shot for shot in a superb second set, he had made the volley he missed on set point at 6-5.
"I was expecting the pass on the other side," Gonzalez said. "I'm a bit sad, when you get to the final you want the best [medal].
Serbia's Novak Djokovic completed the podium after beating American James Blake in the bronze medal match.