Ferrero reflects on Alcaraz's defeat: "There are painful defeats".

At the age of 21, Carlos Alcaraz will not become the youngest Olympic champion in history.

After a tournament of the highest level, and more motivated than ever to bring gold back to his nation, the Spaniard finally came up against the last hurdle.

Up against a Novak Djokovic in his prime, he was a little less good than his opponent in the important moments, failing to convert any of his 10 break points.

In the end, he fell to 'Nole' in the tie-breaks (7-6, 7-6) and had to be content with the silver medal.

When asked about this very difficult defeat, Juan Carlos Ferrero, the Spanish prodigy's coach and mentor, reflected on the facts with a great deal of wisdom, explaining that this kind of moment makes you grow.

He declared: "Sport is like that, there are painful defeats, but those are the ones that make players grow the most.

Novak played incredibly well, making few mistakes and raising his level in the important moments.

I think Carlos (Alcaraz) didn't manage as well as he did in the Grand Slam finals, but you learn from everything."