Spain's Rafael Nadal showed once again that he's the best tennis player in the world today, defeating Chile's Fernando Gonzalez in straight sets to win the Olympic singles gold medal. Serbia's Novak Djokovic won the singles bronze.
For Nadal, who officially becomes the No. 1 ranked player in the world tomorrow, it's the latest achievement in a great year. Nadal has already won the French Open, defeated Roger Federer in the best Wimbledon final ever, and now has a gold medal around his neck. He'll also be favored to win the U.S. Open, which begins next week.
Nadal's ascension to the top of the tennis world has come at the expense of Federer, who has been the top-ranked player for 237 consecutive weeks, ending today. Federer did salvage something from the Olympics, as he and partner Stanislas Wawrinka won the doubles gold medal for Switzerland. Federer and Wawrinka defeated Sweden's Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson in the gold medal match; American twins Mike and Bob Bryan won the doubles bronze.
