MELBOURNE, Australia — In a riveting Australian Open women’s final on Saturday, Petra Kvitova tried unsuccessfully to shake Naomi Osaka. Kvitova earned five break points in the first set, which she could not convert, and saved three championship points in the second, which she ultimately was unable to capitalize on.

Osaka refused to fade away. Later, as the Rod Laver Arena crowd celebrated Osaka’s 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-4 victory, Kvitova looked around to congratulate her opponent — and couldn’t find her anywhere.

“Well done, Naomi,” Kvitova said, craning her neck to look behind her. “Where are you?”

Every little thing Osaka does on the court inexorably draws the eye to her, but take the racket out of her hand and she visibly shrinks from the spotlight. Born in Japan and raised in the United States by a Japanese mother and a Haitian father, she was asked in an interview on Australian television if she was ready to become the face of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

“Yikes,” she said, wincing. “Hopefully for their sake they don’t do that.”

How can they not?

Osaka came into this tournament last year ranked No. 72. When the new world rankings come out on Monday, Osaka, 21, the reigning United States Open champion, will become the first singles player, male or female, from Japan to reach No. 1. The retired Chinese star Li Na might as well have been passing a torch when she presented Osaka with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup in the on-court trophy presentation.