17-Year-Old American Who Pulled Off The Biggest Upset Of The US Open Has An Incredible Backstory
Duval — a 17-year-old Haitian-American — came into the match ranked 296th in the world. Stosur is ranked 11th.
Every year we see an American teenager shock someone in the first round. Some of them go on to shoot up the rankings (Sloane Stephens), while others stagnate (see: Melanie Oudin).
If Duval ends up doing great things, she has an incredible backstory to build on.
She was born in Miami but spent much of her childhood in Haiti. Her family moved to the U.S. full-time after she and her cousins were held hostage by armed robbers in Port-au-Prince when she was seven, according to the NY Daily News.
She eventually ended up moving to Bradenton Academy — the legendary youth athlete factory in Florida — to train with coach Nick Bollettieri as an adolescent.
In 2010, her father Jean-Maurice was buried alive when an earthquake struck Haiti and his house collapsed on top of him. He was there operating a medical clinic.
He called his family to give them his last words before being rescued. 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 from the rubble, family friends in the U.S. chartered a plane to bring him back to the States for medical attention. He ended up breaking both legs and suffering paralysis in one arm.
Despite widespread comparisons to Venus Williams, Duval has told numerous reporters that she wants to be the next Kim Clijsters.
Great backstory.
Here's her match point:
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