NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 07: Serena Williams of the United States serves the ball during her Women’s Singles fourth round match against Maria Sakkari of Greece on Day Eight of the 2020 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 7, 2020 in the Queens borough of New York City. Al Bello/Getty Images/AFP

23-year-old Osaka who has made a significant splash on and off the court since her victory at the US Open final in 2018, has since added two Grand Slam titles to her rising tally and she is one of the favourites at the upcoming Australian Open, which she won two years ago.

Despite her increasing fame and fortune, Osaka believes the seven-time Australian Open champion is still the most influential player on the women’s circuit.

“As long as Serena’s here, I think she’s the face of women’s tennis,” Osaka said.

“Honestly I don’t feel that way (about being the new face)… there’s so many interesting new people. I think I’m one of the new people.”

In her first match since her US Open triumph last year, Osaka fell to Williams in an Adelaide exhibition on Friday after emerging from a mandatory 14-day quarantine.

“I wasn’t really taking it too seriously as a match,” the Japanese player admitted.

“But it was fun to be able to hit with her. I just tried to have fun and experiment a little.”

The emergence of talented youngsters in recent years has created more unpredictability in the Grand Slams, but Osaka believed her best would be hard to top.

“I feel like I’ve never thought that it was open,” she said.

“Even in New York, for me, I felt like I played some of my best tennis. I think it showed.

“My semis against (Jennifer) Brady was probably (one of the) top two matches I’ve played in my life.”

Osaka however sent warning for her rivals when she said she had added to her already potent all-round game.

“I feel like I’m getting better at slicing. That’s something that I practised during the off-season,” she said. “I feel like there’s a lot of shots that I’m missing.

“I would love to be able to do them properly, be confident with how I feel about it. Dropshots is one of those shots.”

She will compete in the Gippsland Trophy this week ahead of the Australian Open starting February 8.