Eccentric Nick Kyrgios has slammed former Olympic champion Dawn Fraser as a 'blatant racist' after the swimmer said tennis players "should go back to where their parents came from" if they didn't act appropriately as role models for Australia's next generation.

The Australian was accused of "tanking" at the All England Club on Monday, a term given to a player who is perceived to have thrown the game by not trying - a claim later denied by Kyrgios in the post-game press conference.

But Kyrgios' temperamental style on the court has split Aussies back home - he looks set to be handed a fine for shouting expletives during the game and engaging in debate with the umpire throughout his defeat to Richard Gasquet.

Fraser, a sporting icon in Australia after winning four Olympic gold medals, took a swipe at Kyrgios, son of a Malaysian-born mother and Greek-born father, and German-born Bernard Tomic, who was dropped from Australia's Davis Cup team after an attack on the country's national tennis association.

"It's absolutely disgusting," she said on national television. "I'm so shocked to think that he went out there to play and he tanked, he did all that tanking, that's terrible," said Fraser.

"They should be setting a better example for the younger generation of this country, a great country of ours. If they don't like it, go back to where their fathers or their parents came from. We don't need them here in this country if they act like that."

Fraser refutes 'racist' claims

Despite originally defending her comments on a popular morning TV program in Australia, the 77-year-old retracted those claims in an interview with the Canberra Times newspaper.

"I'm not a racist person, if you take it that way then I'm sorry that you take it that way, but I'm not racist at all," Fraser said.

"I said, 'If they don't want to be Australians then maybe they should go back to the country where their parents come from'. That's not being racist. I said they were not good Australians by behaving the way they are on court. Do you think they are? He's just bad mannered. He's just a bad sport."

Kyrgios lost 7-5, 6-1, 6-7 (7/9), 7-6 (8/6) to Frenchman Gasquet in the fourth round at Wimbledon and could face a fine of more than 200,000 euros ($250,000) for breaching Grand Slam rules, which call for 'best effort' from all competitors.

rd/jh (AFP, RTRE, AP)