When your main problem is how to sign and sketch on the broadcast camera lens, you know the on-court events are going pretty well at a Grand Slam.
Naomi Osaka, attempting to draw a cat, couldn’t quite get it right.
"Oh my God it’s ugly," claimed the three-time Grand Slam champion.
Her artistry was ridiculed on Instagram by friend and fellow major winner Iga Swiatek, who watched Osaka from the stands on Tuesday, before commenting on the cat doodle, "It’s good that you can play tennis under pressure".
That’s a certainty.
The reigning US Open champion is playing lights-out tennis, having steamrolled the trickery of Hsieh Su-Wei 6-2 6-2 to book a standout semifinal against Serena Williams.
The 23-year-old, unbeaten in 12 Grand Slam matches, has always been an instinctive player but is buoyed by more structure to her recent approach.
“I feel like being able to receive information is something that I've been learning, and it's something that I feel my experience over these past couple years has helped me with because I think a couple years ago I probably wouldn't be able to understand what I was supposed to do that well here,” she explained.
“I know my attention isn't that great all the time. Definitely I feel like I'm getting better at being able to stick to a plan.”
World No.3 Osaka has swept aside five top drawer players so far at Melbourne Park including AO 2020 finalist Garbine Muguruza, against whom she saved two matches points.
The Japanese star completed a similarly impressive run to the title here two years ago, downing Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova and Perta Kvitova in her final trio of tussles.
However, Osaka is wary of spending too much time recalling past glories, relishing the clear and purposeful instructions from coach Wim Fissette.
“For me, I don't really look too much in the past just because I'm a bit of a perfectionist. I feel like if I look too much in the past, I'll compare myself too much,” revealed the 23-year-old, who fell in the third round of her AO title defence in 2020 to Coco Gauff.
“But I think compared to last time I played her here, I was given more clear directions. I talked through it more.”
On the three previous occasions Osaka has advanced to the quarterfinal stage of a Grand Slam, she has gone on to take the silverware.
“I don't really care about the stat. Just because I've only been to four quarterfinals. It feels something like 20, that would be cool. But four, it's not really doing too much for me,” she said.
“I would be more impressed if I didn't lose in finals. If it says 10-0 in finals. But the fact is if I don't reach the finals, I lose in the fourth round or the third round. For me, I'm happy to be more consistent. I think I'm being more consistent since New York, so that's the ultimate goal for me.”
Excluding some precautionary withdrawals, the Japanese star has accumulated 19 victories in a row dating back to the relocated Cincinnati event preceding the US Open.
There are less fluctuations in her matches, she is embracing clear game plans, and the wins are racking up. Yet Osaka sees her biggest development in another area.
“I think for me, the biggest thing I've improved is my mentality. This is something I've been able to I guess level up over the years,” said Osaka, who takes a 2-1 head-to-head record into battle against Williams on Thursday.
“I feel like I understand myself more and I understand the position that I put myself in.”
Dedicated to her improvement, and reaping the benefits, the ambitious Osaka might next turn her attention to improving how she signs the camera lens.