Ajla Tomljanovic felt like a villain when she beat Serena Williams at the US Open. Tomljanovic will likely be known as the last opponent Williams faced at Flushing Meadows.

She might have felt bad about beating Williams but she was proud of her own accomplishments at the Open after she lost yesterday. Ons Jabeur of Tunisia advanced to her first semi-final in New York with a 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory.

“I probably should reflect a little bit and just give myself a little pat on the back, because I do deserve it,” Tomljanovic said. “It’s probably my biggest thing that I’m bad at, that I just don’t give myself enough credit. I’m very hard on myself. Someone should come up to me and just say that I should give myself credit now, because it’s due.”

Tomljanovic was unabashedly a fan of Williams, having grown up watching her play on television. So, she just said she was sorry she beat Williams but didn’t let the emotional win or distractions result in a letdown in her next match, another victory. Tomljanovic is projected to have a career-best ranking at the end of the Open. She became the first Australian women to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the US Open in a season since 1979.

“Sometimes, I’m scared to almost get happy because I feel like, you know, I’m going to jinx myself for the next one or get too excited,” she said. “Yeah, there is like a mental block that I have with that stuff.”

— AP