A lookback at Rafael Nadal's gold medal at 2008 Beijing Olympics

Rafael Nadal is the first Olympic gold medallist for Spain in men’s singles.

On August 17, 2008, Rafael Nadal became the first man to win the French Open, Wimbledon and the Olympic gold in a single season. He was only 22 years old when he created history by clinching gold for Spain in men’s singles at the Beijing Olympics.

The season began tough for Nadal as he did not win a title in the first three months. He reached three finals but lost them all in straight sets. The Spaniard won his first title of the 2008 season at Monte Carlo without dropping a set. It was a sign that his record-breaking run had just begun.

Rafael Nadal’s domination at French Open and Wimbledon

Nadal was in commanding form while being the triple defending champion at French Open 2008. He did not drop a set and recorded three bagels including the one in the final against Roger Federer. He was on a 12-match winning streak and extended it further.

The young Spaniard next played at London and again was on a winning spree as he won the grass court title. Nadal was on his best form at Wimbledon and did not face much trouble till the finals.

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He played one of the best matches in tennis history against Federer in the final. The Swiss maestro suffered his first defeat in the event since 2002.

Rafael Nadal’s singles debut at Olympics

Nadal had made his Olympic debut at Athens in 2004 in men’s doubles with Carlos Moya. The pair lost in the opening round. Four years later, Nadal made his singles debut at the Olympics in 2008 at Beijing. He had a bit of a tussle in the opening round against Potito Starace of Italy but in the next few matches Nadal secured straight set wins.

In the semi-finals, he faced Novak Djokovic which was going to be a blockbuster. The Serbian had defeated Nadal in straight sets a month ago at the Cincinnati Open. But this time he lost the first set. Djokovic came roaring back to win the second set while only conceding a single game. Nadal did not lose control and continued his dominance over Djokovic to reach the final.

In the final, Nadal faced hard hitting Fernando Gonzalez of Chile. Gonzalez’s powerful groundstrokes were returned through Nadal’s meticulous defense. The veteran was firing his forehands to the other side of the net Nadal’s court coverage was unbeatable as he kept testing the limit.

The then world #2 recorded a straight set victory over Gonzalez to clinch the gold medal for Spain. Two grand slam wins and an Olympic gold was the highlight for Nadal in the 2008 season.

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