Myskina, Dementieva to create history

Russia will have its first woman's grand slam champion on Saturday when Anastasia Myskina and Elena Dementieva clash for the title.

Russia will have its first ever woman grand slam champion later on Saturday when Anastasia Myskina and Elena Dementieva meet for the French Open title at Roland Garros.

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Friends since childhood, sixth seed Myskina and number nine Dementieva are both appearing in their first grand slam final, having ousted Jennifer Capriati and Paola Suarez respectively in the semi-finals.

The first ever all-Russian grand slam final ushers in a new era in world tennis.

With six players in the top 20 and 10 in the top 50, Russia is rapidly taking over from the United States as the predominant force in the sport.

Myskina, who on Monday will move up to world number three irrespective of Saturday's result, said the explosion of talent can be traced back to former president Boris Yeltsin, who championed tennis during the 1990s.

Yeltsin phoned both players on Thursday to congratulate them and is expected to be in the stands at Roland Garros on Saturday.

"He changed everything, he brought tennis up from nowhere," Myskina said. "He's kind of our grandpa.

"A lot of politicians started to play so a lot of money started being around tennis and it became more popular.

"People started playing, a lot of people started believing in tennis players and that's why there are so many rich tennis clubs right now."