Petra Kvitova: Man who stabbed tennis star jailed for eight years

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The man who stabbed tennis champion Petra Kvitova in her home in the Czech Republic has been sentenced to eight years in jail, local media report.

 

Radim Zondra, 33, went to her flat in December 2016 saying he needed to inspect the boiler.

 

He then grabbed Kvitova, 29, from behind and held a knife to her throat. She suffered severe wounds to her left hand in the struggle to free herself.

 

Appearing at a regional court in Brno, Zondra denied all charges against him.

 

Zondra, who is currently serving a prison sentence for another crime, was convicted of serious battery and illegal entry into Kvitova’s apartment.

 

She added that she had offered him money to leave, eventually giving him 10,000 Czech crowns (£341; $440). The court has ordered him to pay this back.

 

In her judgment, Judge Dagmar Bordovska said Kvitova’s testimony was credible, while witnesses who testified on behalf of Zondra were unreliable, CTK news agency reports.

 

The two-time Wimbledon champion suffered damage to ligaments and tendons in her playing hand, and underwent a four-hour surgery.

 

Doctors warned her at the time that her tennis career could be over and that she may even lose her fingers.

 

However she returned to tennis five months later, and continued her successful career.

 

Earlier this year she reached the Australian Open final, and is now in the US competing in the Miami Open. She will face Ashleigh Barty in the quarter-finals later on Tuesday.