Former teenage prodigy Mirjana Lucic-Baroni finally feels like she belongs among the tennis elite again after her Australian Open final-four appearance.

Despite crashing to six-time champion Serena Williams, Lucic-Baroni says making the semi-finals again after an 18-year absence has restored her self-belief.

“I always knew I could do it; it’s easy to talk, ‘I belong here, I’m good enough to be there’,” the 34-year-old Croatian said.

“Until results speak for you, it’s all talk.”

After spending much of the past decade away from the professional tour, speaking widely about her upbringing with an abusive father, Lucic-Baroni will rocket 50 places to a career-high 29, eclipsing her previous best of 32 that she held back in 1998.

“That’s amazing because who would have thought at 34 years old I would be breaking my personal best,” Lucic-Baroni said.

“This gives me so much motivation … I want to continue having success and playing well and enjoying this.”

Despite the stunning resurgence, the unseeded veteran had no answer to the power of Williams, who swept her aside 6-2 6-1.

“She played really well from the first point and when Serena plays that well, it’s really difficult to play against,” the underdog said.

Lucic-Baroni said she had little left in the tank to try to stop the onslaught after juggling a quarter-finals run in the women’s doubles with her unexpected singles charge.

“Zero excuse from my side … I was really trying but I was a little bit empty,” she said.

Williams hailed Lucic-Baroni as the Cindarella story of the Open.

“To get this far with everything she’s gone through … she inspires me,” Williams said.

“I’ve been watching her whole tournament and I was rooting for her the whole time.”