Myskina First Russian Winner in Slam History at French
Posted on June 5, 2004
Ranked in the Top 10 but barely a blip among the favorites at the beginning of the French Open, Russia's Anastasia Myskina became the first Russian woman to claim a Grand Slam title Saturday, beating shaky countrywoman Elena Dementieva 6-1, 6-2."I can't believe it," said Myskina, who had never previously progressed past the second round at the French. "I'm really happy, I have no words right now, I'm so emotional."
Dementieva's nervous performance included 10 double faults, losing her first four service games behind her weak serve. While Myskina rolled to victory, her performance was likewise not one for SportsCenter, double faulting to lose the first game.
This year's final was the biggest blowout since 1988 when Steffi Graf beat Natasha Zvereva 6-0, 6-0.
Myskina will move to a career-high rank of No. 3 on the WTA Rankings.