Anna talks of break-in terror
February 26, 2008
Anna Chakvetadze defeated Pole Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2 2-6 6-4 in the first round of the Dubai Open, then spoke about the anguish caused by being assaulted and burgled in her Moscow home in December.
The world number six described how she has had difficulty in sleeping at nights since being tied up by masked thieves and robbed of more than $98,000-worth of cash and almost $197,000-worth of jewellery and other possessions just before Christmas.
Although she was physically unharmed she was traumatized by six men breaking in just before dawn and binding up her and her parents.
The thieves overpowered a maid in an adjacent building, gaining access to the family's living area via the garage.
"I wanted to live in another place in Moscow and change location but my parents didn't want to," Chakvetadze said at the post-match press conference.
"We had a bodyguard in the house and alarms and they wanted to stay in the same house. I couldn't sleep for three nights in my room - then it was okay.
"Sometimes you live in the house and you think you are safe and you are not. So you have to do something, it's difficult to say what, because it can happen to anyone.
"But I never thought it would happen to me. It just happens in the movies. You should do something to protect yourself. But now the first thing is to play well here, and to get some more wins."
Her next opponent is a fellow Russian, Dinara Safina, the world number 15, who is the sister of two-time Grand Slam winner Marat Safin.