Toni Nadal gave his thoughts on the encounter as he penned a column in Spanish publication El Pais and once more labelled the Serb the greatest player of all time, having already done so multiple times before.

The 63-year-old, who coached his nephew between 1990 and 2017 and currently works with Felix Auger-Aliassime, wrote: “It is true that the Spaniard was the favourite to add Olympic success to his showcase but, on this occasion, he met a great Djokovic who reminded us of his best versions.

“The key to Carlos’ defeat was the lack of success in the eight break points he had in the first set. I think that if he had been able to convert any of them, the victory would probably have fallen on his side.

“In this magnificent final we were able to see a much improved Novak since the last fight between the two at Wimbledon a few weeks ago.

“If there the Serbian was bewildered and slower than usual and Carlos, for his part, was able to overflow him again and again with quick blows from the bottom of the court, this time we were able to see the Belgrade player very improved and with a speed of displacement typical of the great player that he still is.

“He forced the Murcian tennis player to force his blows from the bottom again and again, which led him to make some other mistakes.

“The images of Carlos crying on the track with clear signs of grief and frustration have left us with a bitter feeling, but they should not at all lead us to think that it was a defeat.

“He lost a match that could well have fallen on his side, showing his face at all times, fighting to the last ball as we know is usual in him, and having a whole country that we enjoy seeing for his great tennis and his passion.

“His meritorious silver medal against the best tennis player in history undoubtedly deserves all our admiration.”