Myskina rushes to title as Russia's day ends in tears for Dementieva

It is safe to assume that when Anastasia Myskina and Elena Dementieva played each other as 10-year-olds at the Spartak Club in Moscow, with a pizza on offer to the winner, it was a better show than they managed yesterday in the women's final of the French Open.

It is safe to assume that when Anastasia Myskina and Elena Dementieva played each other as 10-year-olds at the Spartak Club in Moscow, with a pizza on offer to the winner, it was a better show than they managed yesterday in the women's final of the French Open.

Neither could remember who collected the pizza but there was no doubt about who pocketed the cheque for £557,000 (or 30m roubles) and the title. Myskina routed her friend 6-1 6-2 in 58 minutes.

It was the first all-Russian Grand Slam final, men or women. Alas, it was also the most one-sided final here since 1988, when Steffi Graf white-washed Natasha Zvereva 6-0 6-0 in half an hour. Zvereva, of Belarus, was playing under the USSR emblem, so there are those in Russia who might argue that it could not be held against their country.

This embarrassment was indisputably down to Dementieva, who perpetrated 10 double faults (lifting her total for the tournament to 67) and 33 unforced errors. She let rip with a bellow of frustration in Russian midway through the second set (translating it afterwards as "I hate myself") as her eighth service error plopped into the net, and she burst into tears of frustration on the tenth. She also wept in the interview room, attempting to describe her serving misery. In contrast, Myskina later confided she did her weeping in the dressing-room before the match.

"It was all too exciting for me," Dementieva confessed miserably. "This was the day of my life, I couldn't wait to go on court, but unfortunately I couldn't find my game. I was too nervous, I was rushing all the time. It was just a bad day for me."

What definitely did not help her cause was her service action, a round-arm flap which might have won approval from fly fishermen but is not calculated to strike terror into the hearts of opponents. She managed one ace but was also guilty of one delivery which looped over the net at 55 miles an hour, public parks stuff. How such a serve survived her long years of training as a junior in Moscow beneath the stern coaching gaze of Rausa Safina, mother of Marat and Dinara, is a mystery.

At least Dementieva looked the part with her long blonde ponytail, red and white dress and white cap, which she swapped for a visor in the second set. Myskina's hair was cropped short, which must have mystified those in the audience who saw the recent issue of the French magazine Sport in which she appeared topless, with what must be assumed was a cascading wig not quite hiding her assets. The pin-up of Paris indeed.

Dementieva actually broke serve in the opening game, but promptly dropped her own with three double-faults and that single ace. There were subsequently a few long rallies between the 22-year-old pals but the standard was abysmal, with Myskina also guilty of poor play. It was all so grim the word Stalinist popped into mind.

The audience were surprisingly patient on an afternoon of perfect weather but whistles and jeers erupted as Dementieva lost serve for the third straight time as Myskina, hardly needing to break sweat, ran out the first set in 27 minutes, at which Dementieva took a toilet break, possibly going in search of a rope and gibbet.

Dementieva's new headgear made not the slightest difference as Myskina broke again in the opening game of the second set. Eight straight games had gone Myskina's way before, to loud cheers, Dementieva clung on to a service game for the first time.

At one stage it seemed Myskina's sympathy was spilling over when she twice conceded points which had been called out, rubbing out the scuff marks on the baseline. The three double faults which pushed her 2-5 down marked the end for Dementieva, who was this time more comprehensively jeered. A forehand into the net left her facing match point and she followed this with another forehand which sailed yards long.

Now Myskina, seeded sixth here, will move up to third in the rankings while Dementieva, who says she plans to go home for a rest before facing the grass of London, goes up from tenth to sixth.

All of which is a considerable achievement for Rausa Safina and the others at the Spartak Club who trained these two. Although their professional head-to-head is four victories each, they played each other countless times as youngsters, travelling together, rooming together and playing doubles together.

"I was always better in practice and she beat me so many times in competition," said Dementieva.

"We used to train from eight in the morning until eight at night," said Myskina, "running, playing, doing drills, serving for a couple of hours, then running for maybe 40 minutes. Then we went home and did our studies until midnight." Clearly, both of them put in the hours and, despite her sorrows, Dementieva could find time for pride in her country: "This is the greatest thing for Russia, two girls in a Grand Slam final."

So it is, following on the domination of the Williams sisters and the Belgian pair, Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters. More will definitely be heard from a nation who now have six women in the top 20 and 13 in the leading hundred.

And for poor, sad Dementieva there was the consolation of the loudest applause of the afternoon when she made her speech at the prize ceremony in French.