Ajla Tomljanovic falls to Ons Jabeur in U.S. Open quarterfinals

The magic ended for Ajla Tomljanovic Tuesday.

Tomljanovic, who defeated Serena Williams in what was likely her final career match last week, fell in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (4), to fifth-seeded Ons Jabeur in the U.S. Open quarterfinals Tuesday.

The Tunisian Jabeur becomes the first-ever African woman to make it to a U.S. Open semifinal. She will play France's Caroline Garcia, who beat  American Coco Gauff in straight sets on Tuesday night.

It had been quite a run for the 29-year-old Tomljanovic. After reachng the Wimbledon quarterfinals this season, she defeated Williams in the Open's third round and then knocked off unseeded Russian Ludmilla Samsonova.

Jabeur, a Wimbledon finalist this year, has been one of the hottest players in the tournament. Through five matches she has lost just one set.

“I believe in myself after Wimbledon,” she said in her on-court interview after the match. “I know that I have it in me to win a [Grand Slam] final. And here I am in the semifinals.”

Both players suffered multiple service breaks in the match. The biggest for Tomljanovic came when she served for the second set at 5-3 but failed to hold. Tomljanovic had nine double faults in the match, including two in the game when she was serving for the second set.

Tomljanovic said she really hasn’t had time to reflect back on what she did in the tournament, but it’s clear that it’s one she is always going to remember.

“But now I'm already thinking about what I'm playing next, so I probably should reflect a little bit and just give myself a little pat on the back, because I do deserve it,” she 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.”

By Barbara Barker

barbara.barker@newsday.commeanbarb

Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.