17-Year Old Victoria Duval Beats U.S. Open Champion Samantha Stosur in the First Round
Aug 29, 2013 04:26
In the most shocking tennis tournament yet, 17-year old Victorial Duval beat 2011 U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
The Haitian-American teenager came into the match ranked 296th in the world, while Stosur is ranked 11th.
Duval's journey has been nothing of the ordinary - she has an incredible back-story to begin with.
She was born in Miami but grew up in Haiti. Her family moved to the U.S. after she and her cousins were held hostage by armed robbers in Port-au-Prince when she was seven. She then moved to Bradenton Academy — the legendary youth athlete factory in Florida — to train with coach Nick Bollettieri as an adolescent.
Her father Jean-Maurice was buried alive in 2010, when an earthquake struck Haiti and his house collapsed on top of him. He was there operating a medical clinic. Victoria told CNN in 2011:
"He was sort of giving us his last words and said to my mum, 'Tell the kids I love them.' Mum just collapsed on the floor, but she said, 'No, no, no, you are going to make it.'"
After he pulled himself out from the rubble, family friends in the U.S. chartered a plane to bring him back to the U.S. for medical attention. He had broken both legs and suffered paralysis in one arm.
And although she's been compared to Venus Williams, the young Victoria Duval has told reporters that she wants to be the next Kim Clijsters.
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