I think you mixed some things here.
First of all, this was not a fan favorite at all, only a couple of us believed that everything about it is iconic and that she will do much better than expected. Some blogs (I won't mention the names) have said that she will not even qualify for the final.
Yet some of us here were 100% sure that everything will change after the rehearsals and we were right.
She won the semi and then suddenly rules were changed during (and before) semi 2 where the juries were getting instructions to "disregard the show and judge only the songs". Not saying that it was done to prevent her from winning, but it has to be taken into account.
Even that put aside, 9th place is still a great achievment and certainly not a flop. She didn't enter the competition to win (that's what we hoped for) and this was a great upgrade to her career, because now she is recognized in Europe as well. That was her primary goal and she achieved it.
The results are not the end all be all