PARIS: Petra Kvitova admitted on Friday that she was happy that the knife-wielding burglar who slashed her hands in a terrifying home attack was finally behind bars.
The 28-year-old two-time Wimbledon champion missed six months of the tour last year to recover from her injuries and only returned to action at the 2017 French Open.
Now, almost 18 months after the violent break-in, Czech police have arrested a man, described as a 54-year-old drug addict, in connection with the attack.
“It’s great news for me to hear that. It’s great that they have him in custody. But probably the happiest I will be is when the story will end, when everything will be done and finished,” Kvitova told reporters at Roland Garros on Friday.
Kvitova, the world number eight, suffered career-threatening injuries to her playing left hand as she fought off the intruder at her home in the eastern Czech town of Prostejov in December 2016.
Despite grim forecasts by doctors, who even warned she might lose her fingers, the 2011 and 2014 Wimbledon champion returned to the sport in time for last year’s French Open.
Kvitova sank from 11th in the world when the crime occurred to 29th at the turn of 2017 and 2018, but she has since climbed back into the top ten, also owing to back-to-back wins at Prague and Madrid this spring.
“I was focusing on the hand and I was really trying hard to be back or focusing on the rehab,” she added.
“I have been telling myself that I can’t really do anything, you know. It’s the police and they do what they have to do. And in the end, hopefully they did great job.”
