Spain's Rafael Nadal grabbed the gold in the Olympic tennis men's singles tournament on August 17 2008 after winning against Chile's Fernando Gonzales in straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), 6-3. 

The win came a day before Nadal was to become world number one in men's tennis, replacing Roger Federer who spent more than three years on the top.

Nadal also became the first Spaniard to have won the Olympic gold after Jordi Arrese and Sergi Bruguera lost their final games in the 1992 Barcelona Games and the 1996 Atlanta Games, respectively.

The win came as yet another proof of Nadal's supremacy this year after having won eight titles this season. Among the trophies were Nadal's fourth French Open title and his first-ever Wimbledon title, both won against Federer.

The Spaniard' match record is even more impressive. He has lost just one in 39 matches since the start of the season.

Federer somewhat made up for his quarterfinal slip-up against American James Blake in the singles, winning gold in the doubles tournament together with compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka, defeating the unfancied Swedish pair of Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson (6-3, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3).