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Man who stabbed Petra Kvitova gets eight-year prison term

The attack happened back in 2016, and it nearly ended Kvitova's career.

Published Mar 26, 2019

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PRAGUE (AP) — A man who stabbed two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in her home was sentenced to eight years in prison on Tuesday.

Radim Zondra, 33, was convicted of causing Kvitova serious bodily harm by a regional court in Brno.

The state prosecutor requested 12 years for Zondra, who pleaded not guilty to attacking Kvitova in December 2016 in her apartment in Prostejov.

After a quarterfinal round loss in the Miami Open on Tuesday night, Kvitova addressed the verdict.

"Yeah, I heard that, for sure, I heard that this morning," she said. "I accepted the news. I'm happy for the news and I'm glad it's over now."

Kvitova's spokesman, Karel Tejkal, said she "respects the ruling of an independent court."

"She's satisfied with the verdict because she identified the convicted person as the attacker," Tejkal said.

Zondra can appeal, and so can the prosecution.

Kvitova had surgery on injuries to her playing left hand. It took the tennis star more than five months to recover.

Kvitova reached the Australian Open final in January, her first Grand Slam final since her second Wimbledon title in 2014. She is ranked a career-high No. 2.

Her testimony provided key evidence for the court to rule in the case, Judge Dagmar Bordovska said.

Kvitova testified 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.

In the attack, Kvitova 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.(

While bleeding, she said she offered Zondra money. He accepted 10,000 Czech crowns ($440) and left.

Zondra has a criminal record behind him.

In 2012, he was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for being a member of a gang that attacked lonely pensioners. After he was released when his sentenced was suspended, he gave a tip to a gang of three 2015 to rob a lawyer. The three tortured that person and robbed him of some 50,000 Czech crowns.

For his tip, Zondra received last year a two-and-a-half year prison term he currently serves.

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