MELBOURNE (Kyodo) -- Just days after narrowly missing her first tournament championship since 2021, four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka said Friday at the Australian Open that she was upbeat about her chances this year after a difficult 2024.

On Sunday, an abdominal injury forced the 27-year-old out of the ASB Classic final in Auckland, New Zealand, after she won the first set, and Osaka admitted an examination did not dispel all her injury concerns, but said she was realistic and ready to play.

"The MRI, it wasn't fantastic, but it wasn't bad at the same time," the 50th-ranked Osaka told a Melbourne Park press conference. "I'm pretty optimistic about playing my match. I've been practicing pretty good for the two days that I've been here, so...seems to be going good."

"My mindset now is probably the most clear it's been in a very long time. Obviously, I did pretty well in Auckland."

Having returned to the tour last year after giving birth to her first child, Osaka said she lacked an understanding of what it took to be competitive again, something 2024 taught her.

"When I came here last year, it was like hopes and dreams," she said. "Me sitting here now is like reality. It's funny because I still have the same hopes and dreams, but it's more like understanding how much hard work it takes to come to this point."

Osaka said missing out on her first tournament title since her second Australian Open championship four years ago hurt, but only momentarily.

"In that moment, it was devastating," she said. "I felt like basically I could touch it."

"I'm kind of strangely over it now. Like 30 minutes after that happened, I was over it, because I felt like I'm playing really well. I can only just keep continuing and hopefully I'll get to another final."

The main draws at the Australian Open start Sunday, with Osaka set to face 58th-ranked Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia in a repeat of their 2024 first-round clash, the first of their three 2024 matches.

"I really respect her a lot. I feel the same energy coming from her. I also like the fact that we were born on the same day (Oct. 16)," Osaka said.

Garcia, posting on X, wrote, "This is starting to be a classic."