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Ajla Tomljanović was quick to charm the crowd after ending Serena Williams's career at the US Open. Who is the Australian player?

Australian Ajla Tomljanović knocked Serena Williams out of the US Open in what's likely to be the last match of the US great's career.

So, it could be expected that some spectators were upset with the outcome. 

But Tomljanović was quick to charm the American audience with her humility.

What happened after Serena Williams lost? 

Tomljanović was reserved in her victory over the 23-time grand slam champion.

After winning the thrilling three-hour three-set match, she stepped aside so Williams could bid her fans farewell from the sport. 

And when it was her time to speak, Tomljanović 's modesty drew praise from those watching on.

"I'm feeling really sorry just because I love Serena just as much as you guys do," she said after her win.

"What she's done for me, for the sport of tennis is incredible. 

"I never thought I'd have a chance to play her in her last match when I remember watching her in all those finals, so this is a surreal moment for me."

OK. Who is Ajla Tomljanović?

The 29-year-old has been Australia's top-ranked female tennis player since Ash Barty retired earlier this year.  

She is in the best form of her career, with a current ranking of 46th in the world. She has made it to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon for the past two years in a row. 

Born in Zagreb, Croatia, she started playing for Australia in 2014 before becoming a fully fledged Australian citizen in 2018. 

She's not the first athlete from eastern Europe to call Australia home. 

Jarmila Gajdosova and Anastasia and Arina Rodionova also made the move, as well as childhood immigrants Bernard Tomic, Jelena Dokic and Marinko Matosevic.

Did Tomljanović think she would beat Williams?

If she did, she didn't let it show.

"She's Serena. I just thought she would beat me, so the pressure wasn't on me," Tomljanović said in her post-match interview. 

"Even to the last point, I knew she's in a position to win even when she's down 5-1.

"That's just who she is and she's the greatest of all time. Period."

How did Tomljanović deal with the pressure?

To put it simply, she blocked it all out. 

But it must have been tough because the US Open was definitely the Serena Williams show.

Officials were having Williams's opponents enter the stadium first, before displaying a minute-long montage of the American's career on the big screen in the lead-up to her walk onto court. 

Tomljanović said she dealt with this, and the crowd, by staying in "my little bubble".

"It's just up to us to look at something else, not at the montage," she said in the lead-up to the match.

"I'm going to watch it after our match. I don't want to build it up too much. I already know who she is. I don't want to get reminded [about] everything she's done in the sport."

"But I think if I just stay within my little bubble, have my corner that I go to when I need help just for support, block it out as much as I can, [I will be OK]."

ABC/wires

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