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Djokovic: Became rattled
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World number three Novak Djokovic claimed bronze in the men's tennis event in Beijing after defeating American James Blake 6-3 7-6.
The Serb, who lost to Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals, broke early in the first set and proved too solid for the eighth seed, who had knocked out Roger Federer on Thursday.
Djokovic earned a crucial break early in the first set to lead 2-1, but Blake rattled his opponent in the second set, with Djokovic smashing a racquet in frustration with the scores tied at 4-4 on the way to a tie-break.
But the Australian Open champion earned match point at 6-4 in the breaker and when Blake sent a forehand into the tramlines, scenes of wild celebration followed with Djokovic hurling most of his kit into the crowd.
"I'm very, very happy. I mean, to win any medal in the Olympics is a huge achievement for any athlete I think," said the 21-year-old.
"Not many athletes get a chance to win a medal. But for me, this bronze, which I won here, shines like a gold because I think I've played all tournament pretty good tennis."
Federer gained ample compensation for losing his quarter-final clash when teaming up with fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka to win gold in the doubles.
The duo raced into a two-set lead against Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson of Sweden, but lost a tie-break 7-4 in the third before clinching victory 6-3 6-4 6-7 6-3.
It is the highlight of a disappointing year for Federer, who will lose his status as world number one on Monday when Nadal usurps him at the top.
Bob and Mike Bryan had earlier claimed bronze by beating veteran French pairing Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra 3-6 6-3 6-4.
