Glum faces, unfortunately, are not uncommon on the podium. Sour grapes are something no-one could ever accuse Shingo Kunieda of.

The two-time Paralympic singles gold medallist is a class act and most neutrals and even a few players would probably be delighted to see the Japanese regain his title at the Tokyo Paralympics in four years time should he choose to compete.

"I've got so much respect for Shingo, I always have in my career," said Great Britain's Gordon Reid after he and his partner Alfie Hewett denied Kunieda the chance of gold in the doubles at Rio 2016 on Tuesday evening.

The Japanese's hopes of defending his singles title had disappeared earlier in the day when he lost to the Belgian Joachim Gerard.

Reid added: "In my opinion, he's the greatest player who has ever played our sport so to be playing at the same time as him for me is a privilege. He's classy when he wins and he's classy when he loses.

Hewett concurred: "I thought he played an amazing game tonight, he caught us out a few times at the net."

At the moment it's unsure whether Kunieda will still be around in four years time but he has played more than well enough here to suggest he will, providing the seasons in between aren't disrupted by injury as this one has been by elbow surgery in April. Barring that he is certainly still good enough to win gold in either singles or doubles.

After all, he is only 32 and players play on until well into their forties and even occasionally fifties in wheelchair tennis. Stephane Houdet, for example, is 45 and he is the world No. 1. The Tokyo Games would be a huge temptation for him to compete in and he is, of course, a super star in Japan.

He was won every title in the world of wheelchair that is worth winning and most of them several times over: 20 Grand Slams and three Masters as well as the two Paralympic golds and that's just in singles.

When he lost to Gerard he refused to blame the fact that he and his doubles partner Satoshi Saida had played a three-and-a-quarter hour doubles match the previous evening while the Belgian had rested up, nor his elbow injury which still needs an ice pack around it after every match.

"The first thing he said to us when he was shaking our hands at the net afterwards was: 'Now you guys go for gold,'" said Reid. "It's amazing when you see someone who's achieved so much still be humble in defeat as well."