Russian golden girl Daria Gavrilova transformed centre court at the Kallang Tennis Centre into a dance floor on Friday, getting the crowd grooving to Lady Gaga, Usher and the Black Eyed Peas after she beat China's Saisai Zheng in the girls singles final of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games.
 
Gavrilova, who came from behind to beat Zheng 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 in the gold medal match, will now become the world number one girls player after the victory, the first time in her career she has held the top ranking.
 
Following her singles triumph, the 16-year-old was set to team with compatriot Yulia Putintseva in the girls doubles bronze medal match against Hungary's Timea Babos and Belgian An-Sophie Mestach before persistent rain forced a delay.
 
The Russian treated the crowd patiently waiting on centre court to a dance routine with Babos before a handful of boys players and dozens of volunteers joined them on court in consistent drizzle that postponed the rest of the day's matches.
 
"I don't know how it happened. Babos just turned to me and was like, 'You are the only one who will do this. Let's go'. I am going to be playing this girl, but she is also my friend," Gavrilova said.
 
"I've never danced on the court before, and maybe I never will again. The Youth Olympics are so, so cool."
 
Bosnian Damir Dzumhur was due to play Russia's Victor Baluda in the boys singles bronze medal match, but when rain also delayed their match, they joined Gavrilova for the impromptu dance session.
 
"This is the first time I've ever danced with a crowd on court. The crowd has been perfect, and it's definitely one of the most special moments throughout the tournament," Dzumhur said.
 
It was a wonder that Gavrilova still had energy to dance after the Russian took nearly two-and-a-half hours to see off Zheng and win gold. The Chinese played near-faultless tennis in the first set before Gavrilova found her range, using her forehand to devastating effect to win the final 11 games of the match. 
 
"In the first set, she (Zheng) played perfectly. There were not many mistakes from her side," Gavrilova said.
 
"In the second (set), I decided to play more aggressively and was really counting on my physical fitness. That was really the thing that helped me."
 
The boys doubles gold medal match, which was postponed due to the inclement weather, will resume on Saturday at midday.
 
The girls doubles bronze medal match and boys singles bronze medal match, which were scheduled for Friday, will also be played on Saturday, while the boys gold medal match and the girls doubles gold medal match will be played on Saturday as scheduled.
 
YONS