FOUR-TIME Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka of Japan said she is building self-confidence and belief while trying to be less of a perfectionist on and off the tennis court.

The defending U.S. Open champion beat 87th-ranked Czech Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-1, in 93 minutes Monday to reach a second-round matchup with Serbian qualifier Olga Danilovic.

Osaka said she didn’t feel pressure but was nervous nonetheless as she tries to make life changes.

“I tell people I’m a perfectionist. For me, something that’s less than perfection, even though it might be something great, is a disappointment,” Osaka said. “I don’t really think that’s a healthy way of thinking, so something that I really want to change.

“In this tournament I just want to be happy knowing I did my best and even though I didn’t play perfect I was able to win a match in two sets, or if I have to battle, play a match in three sets — know that I made a couple mistakes, but it’s OK at the end of the day because I’ll learn.

“It’s not really a tournament thing. It’s more like a life thing. I hope I can keep this mindset throughout my life going forward.”

Osaka withdrew from the French Open after one match over mental health issues, saying she didn’t want to talk with reporters after matches, and skipped Wimbledon as well.

This week, she has opened up about her feelings on social media and to journalists, saying she needs to respect herself more.

“It has been a gradual situation,” she said. “There were multiple events in my life that led me into thinking the way that I do.

“For me one of the biggest things is hearing a little kid telling me that I’m their favorite player or I’m a role model. Instinctively the first thought in my mind is ‘Why?’

“I feel like I have to sort of embrace more the feeling, the honor that they’re telling me that, and I should believe more in myself.”

Meanwhile, Andy Murray told reporters that he had “lost respect” for his opponent Stefanos Tsitsipas after a gamesmanship row during their brilliant but bad-tempered first-round match at the U.S. Open.

Murray performed at an unexpectedly high level on Arthur Ashe Stadium, twice moving a set ahead against the world No 3, before eventually slipping to defeat in 4 hours and 48 minutes. But the seven-minute bathroom break that Tsitsipas took before the start of the deciding set left him ranting about “cheating” to supervisor Gerry Armstrong and telling the umpire: “It’s never once taken me that long to go to the toilet.”

Tstsipas also took a medical timeout at the end of the third set, and delayed play at a crucial moment in the fourth set while he changed his racket. After the match, Murray claimed that Tsitsipas had such a reputation for this sort of gamesmanship that he had discussed the issue with his team as soon as he knew who he would be playing.

“It’s not so much leaving the court,” said Murray. “It’s the amount of time. I spoke to my team before the match about it and said [we should] prepare for it if things were not going his way." (SD-Agencies)