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Czech Court Extends Punishment For The Man Who Stabbed Petra Kvitova

Published 01/08/2020, 4:36 PM EST

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Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova experienced a horrifying incident in December 2016. She was attacked by an intruder in her apartment in Prostejov and suffered multiple knife wounds on her left arm. Kvitova was trying her best to defend herself but she landed up hurting her left arm brutally. 

Who stabbed Petra Kvitova?

The knife attack victim Kvitova was stabbed by a 34-year-old man named Radim Zondra in the Czech Republic. In March 2019 Zondra was pronounced guilty and was sentenced to eight years in jail. However, the appeals court in the Czech Republic on Wednesday increased his sentence from eight to 11 years in prison. The High Court of Olomouc handed Zondra an 11-year prison term on Wednesday after the prosecution. And the verdict is finalized.

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via Imago

Details of the attack

In December 2016 Zondra grabbed Kvitova from behind and held a knife to her throat. “He asked me to turn on the hot water tap and at that moment I had a knife against my neck. I grabbed it with both hands and held the blade with my left hand. I snatched it away, I fell on the floor and there was blood everywhere,” Kvitova said while describing the miserable chapter of her life.

He asked for ten thousand crowns (US$ 440). Upon receiving the money he left the place. Then Kvitova called the ambulance and the police. Her left-arm was bruised. She underwent multiple surgeries and was absent from the WTA Tour for five months. 

Victories on the WTA Tour

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The recovered tennis queen from the Czech Republic held her first title at 2018 Birmingham Classic after surviving the knife attack.  There she felt the same emotions as she sensed during her first Wimbledon title in 2011. 

via Imago

World Number seven Kvitova also reached the finals at Australian Open 2019 and played a nerve-wracking championship match against Naomi Osaka. Last year she was just a handful of points away from the World Number one position. 

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Brisbane International 2020

Kvitova is seeded fifth at Brisbane International 2020. She defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the opening round. In the second round, she will play against Ludmilla Samsonovaa. Kvitova is the reigning runner-up of the tournament.

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Written by:

Mahalakshmi Murali

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Mahalakshmi Murali joined EssentiallySports in 2018 as a tennis author and has gone on to pen more than 1800 engaging articles, probing into various aspects of the sport and its illustrious players. With her expertise on the sport, Mahalakshmi has interviewed stalwarts from the sport such as Serena WIlliams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou and Kevin Anderson’s physio, Carlos Costa. Equipped with her vast experience and a keen understanding of the sport, Mahalakshmi now co-heads the tennis department.
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