Tennis-Kvitova happy knife attack did not derail Wimbledon dream

Petra Kvitova is happy to achieve her dream of playing at Wimbledon next week after recovering from serious injuries to her playing hand sustained during a knife attack in her home last December.

The two-times champion was expected to be sidelined for at least six months after the attack and the 27-year-old said she feared missing the grand slam event this year.

Kvitova returned to action at the French Open, where she was knocked out in the second round, and won the Aegon Classic on Sunday on her favourite grass-court surface.

"I said if I am not playing I will probably not come just to watch," Kvitova was quoted as saying by the Times.

"Now I am coming to play which is even better. I think it will be amazing. It doesn't matter if I win, lose or whatever, but the dream which I set when it (the attack) happened, that I wanted to play Wimbledon this year, will come."

The victory at Birmingham marked Kvitova's first title this year but she could not celebrate with her trademark clenched fist salute due to the lingering effects of the injury.

"I still can't do my fist bump when I am playing," she added. "The doctor said it will never be the same because of the scars for sure, and then we don't know how everything will work out.

"But I am happy that I am playing tennis and not badminton because there is a small grip, so it would be more difficult for me to hold."

The Czech Republic player is the 11th seed at Wimbledon which starts on Monday.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)