Nadal caps his world domination with golden victory over Gonzalez in Beijing

Nadal will wake up on Monday morning having finally ascended to the top of the ATP rankings, an achievement confirmed long before his 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 final victory over Chile's Fernando Gonzalez at the Olympic Green Tennis Centre.  

Nadal's success was rich reward for his embracing of the Olympic spirit, electing to stay in the athletes' village while most of his major rivals chose five-star luxury, if they even bothered to show up in the Chinese capital at all.

Flat out winner: Rafael Nadal lies on the court after winning gold in the men's singles with victory over Fernando Gonzalez of Chile

Nadal said: 'I want to enjoy this moment because it only comes along once every four years. I had a fantastic time in the Village and I want to thank all the other athletes. It was an amazing experience for me.  

'In tennis the Grand Slams are a little more important than they are here. But here I feel like I won it for my whole country, not just for myself. So that makes it a little bit more special.' 

Crunch match: Rafael Nadal bites his gold medal after his victory

Now the Spaniard will jet straight to New York for this month's US Open with the same kind of irresistible momentum with which he conquered the grass-court season. But Nadal says his new status as No 1 will not change a thing.  

'For sure I'm very happy to be No 1 but it doesn't change things much. I was very happy being No 2. There is satisfaction there but at the same time I don't have time to celebrate.  

'The pressure is the same because I just want to keep winning just like I did when I was world No 2. I will probably be No 2 again in a few months. For me, the pressure doesn't change.' 

As if mocking suggestions an extended run in Beijing could only be detrimental to success at Flushing Meadows, Nadal boomed straight into his final clash and broke Gonzalez in his first service game of the match.  

The Chilean, too, is a big Olympic fan, having earned singles bronze and doubles gold in Athens four years ago, and his famously explosive forehand action guaranteed a treat for the capacity stadium crowd.  

That one break was enough for Nadal to claim a quality first set, but Gonzalez burst back to fashion two set points on the Spaniard's serve at 6-5 in the second set, and bring parity within touching distance.  

On the rostrum: silver medallist Fernando Gonzalez of Chile (left) and Novak Djokovic of Serbia, who took bronze, show off their medals

Nervelessly, Nadal wriggled out of trouble, forcing two forehand errors from Gonzalez, who unsurprisingly wilted in the tie-break, which Nadal charged through 7-2 for a two-set lead.  

When the Chilean was broken to love in his second service game of the third set, the match seemed as good as over. But he continued to thrash away, narrowly failing with two opportunities to grab the break back.  

Ultimately, it fell to Nadal to serve out for another illustrious honour, and after one more forehand winner he sank to the surface in celebration, the night sky sparkling with flashbulbs just like the gold which now glints around his neck.  

For Elena Dementieva, the joy of Olympic glory could not be under-stated. 'This is the best thing that's happened to me in my life and career,' she said after her 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Russian compatriot Dinara Safina.  

Having blown a 4-1 lead in the decider, it momentarily looked like Dementieva's notorious nerves would decide the outcome again, but she rallied and ultimately it was the in-form Safina who had to settle for silver.  

Clean sweep: tennis gold medallist Elena Dementieva (centre) poses with her Russian compatriots, silver medallist Dinara Safina (left) and bronze medallist Vera Zvonareva

Dementieva said: 'To win a gold medal is unbelievable. I have been dreaming of this moment since I was eight years old. I don't even want to think about the US Open. I want to enjoy this moment.' 

Vera Zvonareva's 6-0 7-5 win over China's Li Na ensured a Russian clean sweep, but the Chinese doubles pair of Yan Zi and Zheng Jie got the home nation on the podium with a bronze medal win over Ukraine's Bondarenko sisters.  

Women's doubles success went to Venus and Serena Williams, who teamed up to score a surprisingly easy 6-2 6-0 success over Spanish pair Anabel Medina-Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual.  

Afterwards Venus said: 'It does mean more to me to share this kind of moment with my sister. It's just amazing to think we could participate and bring home the gold medal.'