Kvitova testifies in knife case
PRAGUE: Australian Open finalist Petra Kvitova testified in the Czech Republic yesterday at the trial of Radim Zondra (33), who allegedly attacked her with a knife in her home.
After the December 2016 incident in Prostejov, Kvitova had surgery on injuries to her playing left hand. It took the tennis star more than five months to recover.
Kvitova testified in a regional court in the city of Brno by live video feed from a separate room, to avoid facing the suspect.
She offered some graphic details of the attack.
She said she opened the door when Zondra rang the doorbell because she expected a possible doping control. The suspect claimed he came to inspect her boiler.
When they were checking the hot water in her bathroom, Kvitova said she suddenly felt he was holding a knife to her throat from behind.
When she grabbed the knife with both hands, the blade badly injured her left hand.
She sustained damage to the tendons in her hand, along with injuries to all five fingers and two nerves, and underwent nearly four hours of surgery.
At one point, Kvitova said, she found herself lying on the floor: ‘‘I was screaming, of course, there was blood all over the place.’’
When she later offered him money, he accepted 10,000 Czech koruna ($NZ645) and left.
Zondra pleaded not guilty. He faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted. He is at present serving a prison term for a different crime.
Twotime Wimbledon champion Kvitova did not talk to media yesterday but said through her spokesman she was happy it was all behind her.
Ten days ago in Melbourne, Kvitova reached her first grand slam final since her second Wimbledon title in 2014, and lost a threeset thriller to Naomi Osaka. — AP