Kyrgios was booed by spectators when he appeared to make little attempt to return Gasquet’s serve during the third game of the second set after a dispute with the chair umpire.
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But Gasquet saved two set points in the fourth-set tiebreak and extinguished Kyrgios’ attempted comeback 7-5, 6-1, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (6) to enter the last eight at the All England Club for the first time since 2007.
But the Frenchman was relatively well behaved, while Kyrgios flounced out despite the presence in the crowd of the man in a Batman T-shirt whose advice he claimed was instrumental in victory last week on the same court against Milos Raonic.
Kyrgios began shouting aggressively during Monday’s game after losing a number of points before being given a code violation by the umpire for swearing.
“I did move”, he said.
Kyrgios, who challenged a journalist to return Gasquet’s serve as a way of a defence, said: “If they want to fine me they will fine me”.
The combustible Canberra native did not bother swinging his racquet at two serves, which he let pass for aces, and meekly swished another two into the net, in an act of sporting surrender rarely seen on the tennis court.
Tournament officials ruled out the prospect of moving the match to finish on Centre Court, where lighting under the roof allows matches to continue until an 11pm curfew. I feel as if I’m playing not how I should be playing. It’s tough.
“I don’t really want them to love me”. If you take it that way then I’m sorry that you take it that way, but I’m not racist at all.
“I don’t think I created a storm, I think the storm was created before me”, Fraser said. “No big deal”.
“There’s a lot of things going on at the moment that aren’t focusing on actual tennis”.
“It hurts to be out”.
The 29-year-old, a semifinalist in 2007, faces third seeded Swiss Stan Wawrinka for a place in the last four after winning a last-16 clash in Grand Slams for just the third time in 19 tries. “I’m raging at myself”.
She delivered in the worst way: “If they don’t like it, go back to where their fathers or their parents came from”, she said about Kyrgios, who has Greek and Malaysian heritage.
“It’s tough out there”.
People seem to conveniently forget the kid is just 20 years old, he barely knows himself, any wonder he professed “I don’t really like the sport of tennis that much”. I’m not ideal out there.
“There was a lot of ups and downs”. It’s the way you respond from that.
“Maybe they can give you some insight”.
The world No 56 won his third five-set match in four rounds.
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To the disappointment of those bemoaning a lack of “characters” at Wimbledon, Kyrgios bowed out of the tournament with his usual mix of brilliance and belligerence.
