Czech tennis playerPetra Kvitováis fearlessly speaking out about the stabbing incident that left her with a serious hand injury.
The two-time Wimbledon champ, 28, made an appearance in Czech Republic court on Tuesday, where she testified against her alleged attacker who entered her apartment wielding a knife and stabbed the 10-inch blade into her left playing hand.
Her testimony against the 33-year-old man came a little over two years after theterrifying incident first occurred, but Kvitová had no problems clearly recalling the graphic details of the experience, which took herseveral months to recover fromand still affects her today.
To gain entry in the home, Kvitová said he pretended to be a workman inspecting her flat’s hot water system, according toThe Guardian.
Petra Kvitova.CTK via AP
After attempting to reach for her cell phone to no avail, Kvitová said she desperately needed to go to the hospital to treat the injury and asked the man if he would take money and leave,The Guardianreported.
“He asked how much I had. I said ten thousand crowns ($440 USD) and he said ‘Okay.'” the athlete recalled in court. “I gave him the money, he left and I called the ambulance and then the police.”
Looking down at her severed hand after the attack, Kvitová said she felt no pain at the time of the stabbing but was taken aback at her bloody injury.
“When I saw the blood, I started blubbing,” she said, according toThe Guardian. “All the fingers on my left hand had been cut, and the nerves in my thumb and index finger severed.”
Kvitová required four hours of surgery to repair her hand, reportedThe New York Times. Her surgeon, Radek Kebrele, originally said in a press release that her chances of playing again were “very low” for “multiple reasons,” according toCNN.
But Kvitová didn’t let that keep her down, and in May,announced she was returning to her sportfor the French Open about a month earlier than expected.
“Suddenly, I couldn’t do what I love. So I’m happy that I can be here,” she added. “I’ve already won my biggest fight. I stayed in life and I have all my fingers.”
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“I knew it was him the moment I saw him [in the pictures],” she said, according toThe Guardian.“I remembered his eyes mainly.”
Zondra pleaded not guilty on Tuesday but faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted, AP reported. At this time, it is not clear when the verdict will be issued as Zondra is currently serving a prison term for a separate crime, the outlet said.
source: people.com
