Czech Republic court orders suspect in Petra Kvitova knife attack to be detained in custody

Kvitova suffered terrible hand injuries in the attack which kept her off the court for five months until she returned to competition here at last year’s French Open

'It’s great news for me to hear that. It’s great that they have him in custody' (Getty)

A court in the Czech Republic has ordered the suspect in a knife attack on Petra Kvitova to be detained in custody. Seventeen months after the two-times Wimbledon champion was attacked by an intruder in her apartment, a man was detained by Czech police this week.

Kvitova suffered terrible hand injuries in the attack which kept her off the court for five months until she returned to competition here at last year’s French Open.

Asked here on Friday for her reaction to the news, Kvitova said: “Of course it’s great news for me to hear that. It’s great that they have him in custody.

“But probably the most, the happiest I will be, will be when the story will end, when everything will be done and finished. I can’t really say anything more, but so far I’m very happy with this. I’m just here to play tennis and we will see what happen after.”

Police ended their investigation into the incident last year because they had been unable to find the attacker, but state television reported on Wednesday that an anonymous tip had led to the detention of a suspect. Police said the case had been reopened.