Rafael Nadal has crowned his rise to the top of the tennis world by winning the Olympic Gold medal in Beijing.

Mallorcan Rafa Nadal defeated Chilean Fernando González in three sets (6-3, 7-6, 6-3) to secure another high point in his best season ever. Rafa Nadal added the Olympic Gold to his wins at Roland Garros and Wimbledon earlier this year. This Gold medal was the first ever for Spain in Olympic tennis (tennis was not an Olympic discipline between 1924 and 1988).

Today, Nadal also celebrates his rise to Number One of the tennis world, according to the ATP rankings and 6,700 points. Roger Federer dominated that position for a pretty cool 237 weeks. Rafa had been in the Number Two rank since July 25th, 2005.

The photo was taken off a TV screen in Felanitx, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: August 17th, 2008. The time was 13:53:50.