Rafael Nadal reacted angrily to a reporter after being asked about the impact of his recent marriage following his ATP Finals defeat to Alexander Zverev.
The world No 1 went down 6-2, 6-4 having entered Monday's match at The O2 Arena with a 5-0 record against the German.
Nadal has been suffering with injury after pulling out of Shanghai and then dropping out at the semi-final stage of the Paris Masters with an abdominal injury just nine days previously.
While Nadal admitted Zverev was simply better than him, he took issue after being questioned over whether marrying longtime girlfriend Maria Francisca Perello in October has changed his outlook on the game.
"Honestly, are you asking me this? Is that a serious question or a joke?" Nadal said, clearly irked.
"It is a big surprise for me (that) you ask me this after I have been with the same girl for 15 years and having a very stable and normal life. Doesn't matter if you put a ring on your finger or not."
Nadal dropped his serve three straight times, failed to force a single break point and could not find his usually powerful forehand in an error-prone contest that saw him make 13 unforced errors.
But Nadal refused to blame his injury for the loss.
"I did not feel pain in the abdominal at all," he added. "So the physical issue was not an excuse at all. The only excuse is I was not good enough tonight."
"Knowing that I would not be at my 100 per cent in terms of feelings, in terms of movement, in terms of confidence or hitting the ball, I needed my best competitive spirit this afternoon, and I was not there in that way. I need to play much better in two days."
Nadal is now slated to face Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev in round-robin play and could require victory in both matches to advance.
