Victoria Duval Stuns Tennis World at US Open

28 Aug, 2013

American teenager Victoria Duval described herself as a child who became a warrior while knocking former champion Sam Stosur out of the U.S. Open on Tuesday.

The 17-year-old qualifier from Atlanta, who was held hostage at the age of seven and whose father who was dug out of the rubble of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, announced herself on the world stage with a stunning 5-7 6-4 6-4 victory.

“I’m very goofy off the court,” Duval said after the first-round win. “I think I’m very much a child at heart. But on the court you have to be a warrior because that’s just the sport we are in.”

Duval’s father, Jean-Maurice, was courtside at the Louis Armstrong Stadium when his daughter pulled off the first major upset of the tournament.

Three years ago, his legs were broken, his left arm shattered and seven fractured ribs had punctured his lung after the catastrophic earthquake on the Caribbean island.

A tennis connection played an instrumental part in his recovery with an Atlanta family connected with Duval’s club paying to airlift him to a Florida hospital.

That only happened after his passport was also dug out of the rubble and the role of the Kitchen family in her father’s rescue was not forgotten by Duval in the biggest moment of her fledgling career.

World number 11 Stosur paid tribute to Duval’s powerful groundstrokes but also blamed herself for the defeat after hitting 56 unforced errors.

“I think she played well, but I think I certainly helped her along the way,” the Australian said.

Reuters

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