US Open: John McEnroe calls Iga Świątek’s distraction tactic "below the belt"

John McEnroe has asked whether Iga Świątek was “below the belt” when she seemingly tried to distract Lauren Davis during their third-round US Open match.

Świątek, the world number one, defeated Davis 6-3, 6-4 at Flushing Meadows. She will play Germany’s Jule Niemeier in the last 16 this evening.

Despite her comfortable victory, Świątek seemed to resort to an unusual distraction technique in the second set.

With Davis leading 2-0 and the score at 30-30, Świątek appeared to try and put her opponent off at the net by waving her hands in the air.

Speaking on Eurosport, McEnroe suggested the tactic was unnecessary.

“I don’t know about that. I don’t think that’s legal… that is a little bit below the belt,” he said.

“The last time I saw that was when I was playing in 1986 I believe and [Mansour] Bahrami came in and served, and put his hands wide open and said, ‘Hit me’.

“And my partner Peter Fleming hit him in the forehead. And I said, ‘He’s a joke, this guy! I don’t understand what he’s doing. This is serious’.

“And Bahrami was like ‘Good shot Peter, good shot!’ He loved it. I don’t think Świątek has to do that. She’s so good it seems… but she’ll learn. She’s 21.”

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Barbara Schett, the former world number seven, added: “It’s a bit edgy isn’t it? I remember Jo-Wilfried Tsonga used to do that but it’s actually a distraction to the opponent.”

Świątek is now bidding to go beyond the fourth round at the US Open for the first time, having crashed out at the same stage last year.

The 21-year-old seemed unhappy with her performance against Niemeier.

“I could not find my rhythm today,” she said. “She played pretty smart. I’m pretty happy at the end that I could put balls