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Russia is paying a price for the success of its women players in 2004, a year which concluded with the capture of the Fed Cup for the first time.
Yesterday the heroine of that historic victory over France, Anastasia Myskina, was sent packing from the Dubai Open. She followed her compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova, the US Open champion, who was beaten on Tuesday.
Myskina, the French Open winner last year, lost 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 to Patty Schnyder, the entertaining but unpredictable world No14 from Switzerland, which means two of Russia's three grand slam title-holders have not started 2005 as they might have wished.
Myskina had no doubts about the reason. "We had only 20 days break between the seasons, which is the biggest reason I am not playing well," she said, somehow managing to make it not sound like an excuse. "I was also disappointed with the way I played at the Australian Open."
Myskina acknowledged that there are only a couple of players with the range to play like Schnyder, an unfulfilled talent who mixes up slices and topspins, loops and hard hits, sharp angles and deep drives.
Fortunately for this complex risk-taker she made the right shot selection when she was match point down at 5-6 in the second set, and then saw Myskina weaken in the final set amid a spreading rash of errors.
It earned Schnyder a semi-final with the world No1 Lindsay Davenport, who was more comfortable in a lighter breeze than against China's Zheng Jie the previous night, when she launched a ball out of the stadium and received a rare code violation warning. This time she pursed her lips at her errors and overcame Conchita Martinez, the former Wimbledon champion 6-1, 6-4.
The other semi-final will be between the unseeded Jelena Jankovic, the Serbian who abruptly halted the 18-year-old Sania Mirza, the first Indian woman to win a WTA Tour title, and Serena Williams.
The second seed overcame the improving Daniela Hantuchova 6-4, 6-3 and commented: "I definitely had fun today. I didn't want to get off to a slow start again, especially against someone like Daniela. I moved better, and I just think I was a little more focused.
"It's getting used to this court and the balls, and each day I get better. I think it's going to come soon, but I'm not worried about not being No1 - people assume that I am anyway."
