NEW YORK: Russian Dinara Safina said she let herself down by acting like a “spoilt girl” during her semifinal defeat by Serena Williams at the US Open on Friday.

“I think I was behaving like a really spoilt girl today,”Safina told reporters. “I have to learn from these things if I want to get better. If I want to make one step in front, I have to learn to handle my emotions better,” she added. Safina, runner-up at the French Open and Olympics, led 2-0 in the opening set but said the windy conditions contributed to her bad body language.

“I think today I was feeling physically better than previous days but it’s too bad behaviour from my side. Maybe I was 80 percent physically and mentally but I spent 60 of it being negative on the court,” she explained.

“I could see she was having some problems at first and I was 2-0 up with a break but she behaved like a champion,” she said. I was fighting with everything around except her. This I can learn from her.” Despite the defeat, Safina said she was on the right track.