|
Kvitova suffered cuts to her left hand while
defending herself during a home invasion in 2016, while Seles
was stabbed in the back during a match in Hamburg in 1993 which
kept her off the court for more than two years.
"We met each other and decided we were looking to talk about
what we'd been through," the Australian Open finalist told
reporters at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells on Wednesday.
"It was nice to meet someone who has been through something very
similar," she said.
"It was a big surprise that she wanted to talk with me and say
nice words. It was one of the biggest things I've ever heard and
from such a legend, to hear what happened to her."
Seles returned to the game after the attack and won the 1996
Australian Open but never fully regained the dominant form that
saw her win nine majors as a teenager.
Kvitova completed her recovery, which required surgery, ahead of
schedule but said she was not sure she would ever be able to
completely put the attack behind her.
"With my experience, I am not sure if I am going to be 100
percent one day and I'm not sure if she is either," she said.
"But hopefully she is happy and can enjoy her life as much as
she can."
Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion who is currently ranked
third in the world, fell to world number one Naomi Osaka in the
Australian Open final in January and to Belinda Bencic in the
final of last month's Dubai Tennis Championships.
The powerful lefty will look to win her 27th WTA title when she
takes on either Venus Williams or Andrea Petkovic on Friday in
her first match of the tournament, where she is the third seed.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll, editing by Nick Mulvenney)
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
|
