Naomi Osaka hails the impact of her family - particularly her father - as she prepares for the final

Naomi Osaka will chase history on multiple fronts against Petra Kvitova in the Australian Open final. But her father, the man she calls her pillar of strength, will not be watching.

Of all the possibilities surrounding an intriguing Australian Open final between Naomi Osaka and Petra Kvitova, there’s one certainty.

Leonard Francois, Osaka’s father, won’t be inside Rod Laver Arena.

Francois, a Haitian inspired by Richard Williams’ effort to mould daughters Venus and Serena into tennis superstars, disappears when Osaka plays.

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But his impact stretches far beyond courtside presence as Osaka attempts to become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2015 to win the US Open and Australian Open in succession.

“My dad for me is sort of my mental pillar,” Osaka said.

“No way I would have gotten anywhere close to where I am now without him.

“He’s super positive. Whenever I’m sad, he does silly stuff that makes me laugh. So I’m really grateful for him.

Sascha Bajin, coach of Japan's Naomi Osaka talks with her during a practice session

“Honestly, he hasn’t been watching my practices or my matches, I think. I don’t know where he goes, but he’s gone.

“He just comes after the match and he’s fist pumping me. No one knows where he went. I think I give him anxiety or something.

“But, yeah, definitely I really love my parents, my family, my sister. They’ve all really helped me out so much, especially my dad.”

Osaka, 22, will chase history on multiple fronts against Petra Kvitova.

Japan's Naomi Osaka goes through warm-up exercises with her fitness coach Abdul Sillah

If successful, she would become the first Japanese player to reach No 1 and the first from her country to win the Australian title.

“I think everyone’s has dreams that they want to win. For me, I’ve been having this dream that I won this tournament,” she said.

“I don’t really want to jinx it. I felt like maybe I might have just now. Hopefully I didn’t. But, yeah, I feel like everyone’s goal is the same.

“She has the same goal as me, which is to win. It’s going to be a really hard fight

“For me, my main goal is winning this tournament. I think the ranking comes after that. I tend to do better if I focus on one goal.”