As Rafael Nadal stood in front of the medal podium, his nation's flag draped across his back like a cape, he looked a little like a Spanish Superman. In tennis, he is. Already assured of the No. 1 ranking, Nadal was No. 1 at the Olympics. He won a gold medal Sunday, overcoming two set points in the second set and holding every service game to beat Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-3.
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Venus and Serena Williams kept up a family tradition Sunday, playing together in the Olympic doubles tournament and walking away with the gold medal. Slugging winners from the baseline and slamming shots at the net, the American sisters overpowered Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain 6-2, 6-0.
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Top-seeded Fernando Verdasco beat Dudi Sela 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the third round of the Pilot Pen tournament Monday night. Verdasco, ranked No. 13 in the world, had a bye into the second round. He also reached the quarterfinals of this tournament in 2005 and 2007. Seventh-seeded Alize Cornet eliminated Nicole Vaidisova 6-3, 7-6 (8) in a first-round match.
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Second-seeded Nadia Petrova dominated unseeded Nathalie Dechy, 6-2, 6-1, to win the Western and Southern Financial Groups Women's Open on Sunday. Petrova, who reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon this year, clinched the win with a forehand return on her second match point to earn her first championship since the 2007 Tier II Paris indoor tournament.
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Novak Djokovic has claimed the bronze medal in singles tennis for Serbia by defeating James Blake of the United States 6-3, 7-6 (4) Saturday. When he closed out the tiebreaker, a jubilant Djokovic ripped off his shirt and threw it to the cheering crowd, along with two rackets, and he started to throw his bag before stopping.
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The Czech Republic's Lukas Dlouhy won the GHI Bronx Tennis Classic on Sunday, beating Argentina's Leonardo Mayer 6-0, 6-1. In the women's final, Russia's Elena Bovina of Russia defeated Germany's Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-3, 7-5. Bovina overcame a 5-3 deficit in the final set. In doubles, Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears beat Angela Haynes and Ahsha Rolle 6-0, 6-1 in an all-American final.
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