Victoria Duval picked up an impressive U.S. Open first round victory at just 17 years old.
Duval, ranked 298th in the world, entered the Open as a qualifier and was paired against No. 11 former U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur and defeated her 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Stosur reached the quarterfinals in the past three U.S. Opens and won it all back in 2011.
At the tender age of 17, Duval was playing in just her second Grand Slam match of her career.
The video of Duval can be seen here.
The match, contested at Louis Armstrong Stadium, lasted two hours and 39 minutes. Duval's excitement was palpable after the match.
"I was really happy," Duval said per ESPN following the victory. "I mean, you can tell by all the jumping I did."
Duval fell in love with tennis when she was just seven years old, watching her brothers play in tournaments, and even joining in on the tournaments herself at a young age.
According to ESPN, Duval has gone through some struggles in her life including having her father, Jean-Maurice, get severely injured during an earthquake in 2010 in his home of Santo Domingo, Haiti. Jean-Maurice was buried alive for four hours under rubble and had to undergo a lot of treatment due to a punctured lung. Duval also experienced a traumatizing robbery in Haiti that prompted her to prefer to live in her birthplace of Miami, Fla. rather than in Haiti.
While Duval had gone through a lot of rough times, her U.S. Open victory was all about triumph and overcoming the personal tragedy she's experienced.
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