Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas share the love in Barcelona trophy ceremony

WATCH: Carlos Alcaraz won his second straight title in Barcelona with a straight-sets triumph over Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Despite being five years his senior, Stefanos Tsitsipas hailed Carlos Alcaraz as an inspiration after losing out to him in the final of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.

Alcaraz was a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Tsitsipas in Sunday's final to triumph at the ATP 500 event for the second year running, and he beat the Greek star for the fourth time in their four career meetings thus far. In a heartfelt runner-up speech, Tsitsipas revisited his earliest memories of seeing Alcaraz on tour, and recognized that the Spanish teenager's prodigious achievements are not only making the sport of tennis stronger, but are also lighting a fire under his fellow Top 10 players to keep up.

"I'd like to congratulate you on this amazing buildup that you've been putting [together] the last few years. It's very impressive," Tsitsipas said.

"I think it's fair enough to say that we see you as an example even though we are slightly older than you. We see your achievements as something that will hopefully push us to do better."

Alcaraz, in turn, was equally-complimentary of Tsitsipas when he had the microphone in his hand. Before delivering remarks in Spanish to the capacity crowd gathered at Pista Rafael Nadal, Alcaraz addressed the Greek directly with his own sincerity.

"I want to congratulate you not just for this week, but all the great work you are doing with your team," he said. "It's amazing to have you here on the tour, to play against you, to share great moments. You are pushing me to be a better player, trying to play my best to beat you. Every match we've played, I've played my 100 percent, so this is what you are doing to me.

"Thank you for everything you are doing for tennis. ... We are going to share great moments, great tournaments, and I hope, for my part, to play a lot of finals."