Just more than eight months ago, Petra Kvitova was held at knifepoint, fearing for her life. Now, she is into the fourth round of the U.S. Open.

Her left hand was sliced, severing nerves and tendons, during a forced invasion at her apartment in her native Czech Republic in December. Kvitova continued her comeback Friday afternoon by beating No. 18-seed Caroline Garcia, 6-0, 6-4, at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Kvitova, 27, is a two-time Wimbledon singles champion (2011, 2014), and is the No. 13 seed after returning to competitive tennis in May. But more than just her career was on the line when the attacker entered her apartment. She tried to defend herself, but the perpetrator used the knife and almost killed her, walking away with the equivalent of $192 of cash. He is described as a 30-something white man, and has still not been caught.

“Sometimes I do feel a little bit more normal than before, especially on the court and around players and people, around the tennis, which I’m very grateful that I can be part of it again,” Kvitova said. “The life is still a little bit strange, but it’s getting better, as well. Hopefully one day will be better.”

Kvitova is a 6-foot lefty, and she had to have surgery on her dominant hand. She was expected to be out up to six months, and within weeks she began doing rehabilitation. It was around that time the Czech police revealed the robbery was part of a blackmail plot against Kvitova.

But she has done everything she can to put it behind her. The French Open in May was her first tournament back, and she lost in the second round. But grass has always been her best surface, and on the natural turf she won just her second tournament back in June in Birmingham.

“I played better [Friday] than in Birmingham,” Kvitova said. “I’m really pleased with the game I showed.”

Kvitova has always struggled at the U.S. Open. Her best finish was reaching the quarterfinals in 2015. She had admittedly disliked playing in the heat and humidity, but early Friday afternoon felt like a cool autumn afternoon, and she thrived.

“I think that I have been lucky with these conditions, with the weather this year so far, playing the first matches [when it] wasn’t pretty humid or pretty hot,” she said. “I do really feel that this whole thing just [is] lucky for me right now.”

The next likely candidate for Kvitova was No. 3-seed Garbine Muguruza of Spain, the reigning Wimbledon champion who was taking on Magdalena Rybarikova later Friday afternoon. And after all that Kvitova has been through, getting back to playing one of the best players in the world on one of the sport’s biggest stages was exactly what she was looking forward to.

“It’s nice to play someone who won a Grand Slam this year,” Kvitova said. “I’m really looking forward for the big stage and for that match.”