Petra Kvitova living the ‘dream’ after recovering from knife attack

As she prepared to make her tennis comeback last year at the French Open, Petra Kvitova was unsure whether she could ever be the player she once was.

Remarkably, the Czech is now one of the favorites at this year’s French Open.

“The last 12 months have been great and unreal so I’m enjoying every moment because I couldn’t imagine the way I’m playing,” she told CNN Sport. “It’s great to have this dream.”

The two-time Wimbledon champion made an emotional return at Roland Garros in 2017 after a knife-wielding intruder attacked her in her apartment in Prostejov five months earlier, leaving her with horrendous injuries.

READ: Serena, Rafa bidding for history

Czech police disclosed this week they finally had a male suspect in custody, which Kvitova said was “great.”

Tendons and nerves in her dominant left hand were damaged in the attack. There were psychological ramifications, too. Her life had been turned upside down.

Kvitova’s surgeon had said from the outset that her chances of playing seriously again were “very low,” but her mental strength pulled her through, earlier than many had expected, and at last year’s French Open she progressed to the second round having barely practiced.

By making it to the tournament in the first place, she had “already won my biggest fight.”

Fellow pros rooted for her

A year on and much has changed again for the world No. 8. Her fitness enhanced and belief boosted, the 28-year-old is in fine form. This despite saying her hand will never be 100 percent.

Kvitova won a record third title in Madrid

Though regarded as more dangerous on faster surfaces, half of the left-hander’s four titles this year have come on clay.

She hopes that the form which has seen her enjoy an 11-match winning streak, bringing her titles on the red dirt in Madrid and Prague, will continue.

The triumph on home turf was particularly “special” and left her in tears during her victory speech to the crowd.

“Overall I feel good on the clay so far and in the past few weeks I’m enjoying time on the practice court, and match court as well,” she says.

Rafael Nadal won his record-extending 11th title at the French Open when he beat Dominic Thiem on Sunday in Paris.

The Spaniard won his first French Open on his debut as a 19-year-old at Roland Garros and has only lost two matches since then.

Simona Halep beat Sloane Stephens in three sets Saturday to win the French Open and her first major after losing three grand slam finals.

Halep finally got her name on the trophy, 10 years after winning the junior title at Roland Garros.

Nadal had kept alive his bid for an unprecedented 11th French Open title with a dominant semifinal win over Juan Martin del Potro in Paris.

Austria's Dominic Thiem is the pretender to Rafael Nadal's claycourt throne after booking a place in his first French Open final with victory against Marco Cecchinato.

Nadal was rattled for a set and a half against Argentine Diego Schwartzman but he took advantage of an overnight rain delay and returned with renewed vigor to win in four sets to reach the semifinals.

Schwartzman ended Nadal's 37-set winning streak at Roland Garros after taking the opener, but rain delayed their quarterfinal overnight and he went down in four sets to the resurgent Spaniard.

Halep had reached her second consecutive French Open final with a straight sets win over Garbine Murguruza of Spain. Halep retained her world No.1 spot as she bids for a first grand slam title.

Reigning US Open champion Stephens (right) beat fellow American Madison Keys to reach her first French Open final.

Two-time champion Maria Sharapova, playing her first French Open since returning from a 15-month suspension for taking the banned heart drug meldonium, lost to Muguruza in the quarterfinals.

Sharapova was due to meet old rival Serena Williams in the fourth round but the American pulled out ahead of the match with a shoulder injury.

Novak Djokovic is undergoing a slump in his stellar career but was hoping to use the French Open as a springboard for better things. However, he lost out to Italy's Marco Cecchinato in the quarterfinals.

The unseeded Cecchinato, who had never previously won a round at a grand slam, beat Djokovic, the 12-time major champion and 2016 French Open winner, in four sets.

World No. 3 Alexander Zverev was expected to be one of the main challengers to Nadal but after squeezing through three five-set matches he fell to Thiem in straight sets in the quarterfinals.

Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson was at Roland Garros watching Williams beat Julia Goerges in the third round.

No Frenchman has triumphed on home clay since Yannick Noah in 1983 and the drought continued this year. No French players made the fourth round.

Williams turned heads in this black catsuit as she made her first grand slam appearance for 16 months following the birth of her daughter in September. The 23-time grand slam champion said it made her feel like a "warrior princess" but added it helped with her circulation.

The Williams sisters teamed up in doubles, but after overpowering Japan's Miyu Kato and Shuko Aoyama (pictured) in their first match they crashed out in the third round.

Nadal is known as the "King of Clay" since winning his first French Open on his debut as a 19-year-old. No player has won the same grand slam as many times as the Spaniard has in Paris.

The French Open oozes Parisian chic and is a springtime rite in the capital.

Djokovic's recent results suggested he could be turning the corner in his recent struggles. A win on day two was a decent start for the 2016 champion, who had slipped to 22 in the world.

On day one, defending champion Jelena Ostapenko was dethroned by Kateryna Kozlova.

Bad news traveled in two as Venus Williams also suffered a shock exit after losing to Wang Qiang.

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READ: Who can stop the ‘King of Clay’ in Paris?

READ: Could French Open signal Novak Djokovic’s rebirth?

‘Clay has always been a difficult surface for me’

The eighth seed attributes her fine form to a “great” off-season where the 6-foot champion especially worked on improving her fitness so that now, she says, she is fitter than she has ever been.

Kvitova returned to the sport at last year's French Open

She outlasted 2016 French Open semifinalist Kiki Bertens in a three-hour final in Madrid and, in doing so, improved to a staggering 24-7 in title matches.

Her winning percentage in finals is better than the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Venus Williams, though she trails Serena Williams.

“I was working pretty hard to be back to where I want to be and practicing,” says Kvitova, whose best showing in Paris so far was reaching the semifinals in 2012.

“I improved my movement, it’s better on the court. That means I have time for my shots, and I’m reading the game better. It’s taken me a lot of practice to get where I am right now.

“I do feel like the best in my movement and my physical part of tennis.”

Despite the 11-match winning streak and an earlier 14-match winning streak, the Czech does not believe she is favorite for the Roland Garros title.

“The clay, it’s been always the difficult surface to play for me on, especially probably here in the French Open,” she told reporters Friday.

“I know I played a semifinal and lost to Maria one year, but overall it’s not the great surface for me,” she said, referring to Maria Sharapova, who she defeated for her first Wimbledon title in 2011.

“Now I think there is probably bigger favorites of the Roland Garros than me. And just for me to play my first match, we will see how it will go, but of course I will do my best, as always.”

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A perspective changed

Kvitova has said she will never forget the events of 2016. She suffered deep cuts to her left hand after fighting off her assailant, who had held a knife to her throat. She still occasionally has flashbacks, but now she has a new appreciation for life and her sport.

The player who has previously said she sometimes feels it is impossible to handle the pressure she puts on herself is now more at ease as she attempts to win her third grand slam.

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Updated 8:45 AM EDT, Mon May 28, 2018

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Petra Kvitova: I can't feel two of my fingers

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“No pressure, none at all,” she tells CNN.

“It’s a much better situation than the last year. I’m enjoying it.

“We’ll see what will happen. I do have a different perspective on life, not only on tennis but off the court as well. For sure it changed my person a bit. Something happened in your life and you have to go on and be focusing on what’s important for you.”