"He's a beast, an animal" - Alexander Zverev left in awe of Carlos Alcaraz's physical intensity after French Open final defeat at Spaniard's hands

An awestruck Alexander Zverev described his French Open title-round opponent Carlos Alcaraz as a "beast" and "an animal" to highlight the physical intensity that the Spaniard brings to his game.

Zverev also revealed how Alcaraz forced him to play a lot higher and a lot deeper in the deciding set by changing his tactics. The German went down fighting 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 against the World No. 3 on Sunday, June 9.

When asked about Alcaraz's staggering success rate in five-setters, Zverev was, however, quick to correct the reporter pointing out that his own record was just as good as the Spaniard's at Roland Garros.

"I had a similar statistic before today here in the French Open. At the French Open it (my win record in five-setters) was 10-1 or something," said Zverev before going on to explain how Alcaraz was different from other players.

"We are both physically strong but he's a beast, he's an animal for sure and the intensity that he plays tennis is different to that of other people," he added.

While Carlos Alcaraz has a 10-1 record overall in five-setters and 2-0 at the French Open, Alexander Zverev is 10-1 at Roland Garros and 23-11 overall.

Zverev then spoke at length on how Alcaraz forced him to play differently in the fifth set while also highlighting the 21-year-old could "do so many different things."

"He can do so many different things. He changed his tactic a lot in the fifth set. So I had to play a lot higher, a lot deeper for me to not create as much power, especially with the shadows on the court," Zverev explained during the post-match press conference.

"Chances of me playing Stuttgart are close to the chances of me going out there and winning the final now" - Alexander Zverev

Zverev gestures to the crowd after the French Open final

Alexander Zverev disclosed that although he is slated to play in the Stuttgart Open, the chances of him taking part in the ATP 250 event were close to the chances of him winning the French Open final after its conclusion.

When asked in the same press conference how he intended to spend the coming week following his devastating loss in the French Open finals, the 27-year-old revealed that he would be travelling to Switzerland for a Flowbank event.

"Right this second, I am still in the draw at Stuttgart," said Zverev before continuing. "We will strongly see about that (playing in Stuttgart). I don't know yet. The chances of my playing Stuttgart are close to the chances of me going out there and winning the final now."

"I have something with Flowbank tomorrow in Switzerland that I will go to and I will probably fly to Berlin because I have a very important person I want to see there which I always do after tournaments. And then we will see," said the two-time Grand Slam finalist, not giving too much away.

Alexander Zverev is the top seed at the grass-court event which begins on June 12.