By: Matt DeCorso

Hello again fans! I hope you've all been well and getting ready for the holidays! Well I am now breaking the trend of teen stars and going to Russian stars!! This week I have decided to write about Anastasia Myskina! I hope you all enjoy it!

Myskina started off her year in Sydney to play the biggest warm-up event before the Australian Open. Anastasia was seeded number five and was expected to win. Unfortunately, her compatriot also wanted to win. Elena Bovina played a great match in taking out Anastasia 6-3 7-5. It wasn't the preparation that Nastya wanted but the Aussie Open was the next week so she took it anyway!

Anastasia went to Melbourne with a hope that she could threaten the field. As the 8th seed, she was a feared outsider. In the first round she played Slovak qualifier, Eva Fislova. Eva played well in both sets but Myskina sealed the win 7-5 6-3. It was a great first round win but from then on, it would be hard. In the second round, Nastya played Swiss Emmanuelle Gagliardi. Emmanuelle gave Anastasia all she could handle, but in the end it was the Russian with more energy as Myskina progressed with a 5-7 6-2 6-0 win. Just by reaching the 3rd round Myskina tied a record. She was in her career best stage at a Grand Slam. She had previously reached this stage in  2000 Wimbledon, 2002 Wimbledon, and 2002 U.S. Open. In this round, she played her first seed, Clarisa Fernandez. Even though the Argentine was seeded 28, she was a dangerous player who reached the 2002 Roland Garros semifinals. This match was one that had a swap in leads several times. In the end it was Anastasia with more leads as she won 6-3 3-6 6-3. She was ecstatic with the win and entered her first career 4th round at a Slam. In the 4th round Myskina went up against 10th seed Chanda Rubin. This was a great encounter with so many chances for Rubin. Myskina found a way to win, pulling out the victory, 4-6 6-4 6-1. This was way more than Nastya expected. She had to keep focused though. She did have a date with 4th seed Kim Clijsters. I watched this match live from the Dominican Republic and Clijsters was sizzling!! Anastasia had no answer in the first set going down 6-2. In the second set Anastasia pumped up the volume with some great shots but Clijsters was too strong in a 6-2 6-4 win. This week was a historical one for the young 21 year old Russian. She vowed that there would be many more weeks like this...........and there was!!!

Nastya took a two week break but returned at Doha in Qatar. She got the number 2 seed so she got a bye and waited for the winner between Anca Barna and Mary Pierce. It turned out to be Pierce. Mary was on the comeback trail but had not yet made an impact on the Tour. Anastasia took advantage of this as she played hard in a 7-5 6-4 win. In the quarterfinals Myskina played fellow Russian, Dinara Safina. Experience shone through as the older Russian beat the teen queen 6-2 7-5. In the semifinals Anastasia played unheralded, unseeded, and unknown Patricia Wartusch. The Austrian looked shaky but Nastya was not as the Russian ran over the Austrian 6-3 6-3. By reaching the finals, it marked Myskina's 4th career final but this one was special. It was against fellow Russian and 5th seed, Elena Likhovtseva. This final made history as the first EVER all Russian final. There was an all USSR final between Morozova and Kroshina in 1972 but this was between Russia. The Moscow native beat the Kazakhstan-Moscow native 6-3 6-1. After the singles finals Nastya did three things. One: She collected her third WTA crown. Second: She reached a career high rank of number 10 in the world. Third: She surpassed $1 million in career prize money. She was proud of all of those accomplishments but there was more tennis to be played! In the doubles, Nastya partnered Dinara Safina as a wildcard team. The Russian duo couldn't crack the 3 seeded pairing of Janet Lee and Wynne Prakusya. The Russians played solid but not consistently and went down 3-6 6-0 6-4. There was no time to celebrate as Myskina had to play in Dubai next week.

The United Arab Emirates was the site of the tourney that Anastasia went to after Doha. In the first round, seeded number 5, Myskina was to play Russian qualifier and the woman she beat in the quarters last week, Dinara Safina. Once again Nastya surrendered only 7 games but the score was 6-4 6-3 in favor of Myskina. In the second round Anastasia played Thai tennis phenomenon, Tamarine Tanasugarn. The Thai was no match for the Russian's strength as she beat Tammy 6-3 6-2 easily. In the quarterfinals Nastya went up against number 1 seed, Justine Henin-Hardenne. The Belgian played superbly to beat Myskina 6-1 6-4. It was a great match and Anastasia fell just short. There was no shame in losing to the eventual champ and Myskina then headed off to the States.

Indian Wells, California was the next stop for our girl! She was seeded number 7 so she got a bye. In the second round she played yet another compatriot, this time 17 year old Svetlana Kuznetsova. A lot of people couldn't pronounce Svetlana's name let alone find the words for her inspiring play in this second round match. The teen Russian played an amazing match to upset Nastya 6-4 6-7 6-3. Her tournament was not over though. In the doubles, she and Dinara Safina received wildcards and this time put them to good use. In the first round the Russians barely snuck past Barbara Rittner and Maria Vento-Kabchi, winning 5-7 6-1 6-4. In the second round, 8th seeds Raymond and Davenport handled them 6-2 6-1. Off to Miami went Anastasia!

In Miami Anastasia was seeded 11th and had a first round bye. In the second round, American wildcard Sarah Taylor made the tournament organizers sad but the crowd happy as she stunned the Russian 7-5 6-4. It was a disappointing loss but the next week was anything but disappointing.

Myskina decided to stay in Florida and get ready for the clay court season by playing in Sarasota. As the number 2 seed, Nastya was a favorite. In the first round she played a tough opponent in Emilie Loit. The woman who almost took out Serena Williams in the first round in Melbourne showed no sign of that form and Myskina made sure of it, trouncing the Frenchwoman 6-0 6-3. In the second round Myskina played qualifying countrywoman, Nadia Petrova. Petrova was touted as the next big Russian but an injury plagued 2002 and she never reached her full potential. In 2003 she was building up her confidence and would return to the top 15 :). Again Petrova was injured but Myskina won 5-7 6-4 1-0 retired. In the quarterfinals Myskina played another Russian, Elena Dementieva, who was the 5th seed. Elena caused problems for the Doha champ but the power and craft did it for Myskina as she won 6-2 3-6 6-1. In the semifinals, Anastasia was "dealt" another Frenchwoman in Nathalie Dechy. The Russian played amazing and won convincingly 6-2 6-4. In the finals Nastya played Australian qualifier Alicia Molik. It was Molik's second career final and of the year. Nastya proved to be too wise and blunted the booming serve of Molik with sheer talent. The win and the title went to Anastasia Myskina. In the doubles, Anastasia received another wildcard but this time played with Kazakhstan's Irina Selyutina. The women played 3 seeds Schett and Schnyder. It was a fantastic match but the "S" team was too strong as they beat Nastya and Irina 4-6 6-1 7-5. Following her win in the singles, Anastasia retured to the top 10 at number 10!

Charleston, South Carolina was the next tournament for Anastasia. As had happened before, Myskina was the number 7 seed and got a first round bye. In the second round Anastasia played an almost newly resurrected Mary Pierce. Pierce gained revenge from the Doha defeat and dug out a gritty 6-4 1-6 6-2 win on the green clay. Again Myskina played doubles and again played with Selyutina. Another repeat was the reception of the wildcard. The final repeat was their opponents, Barbara Schett and Patty Schnyder. On this day the Russian and the Kazakhstani dominated the Europeans 6-4 6-2. In the quarterfinals the women played number 5 seeds Elena Bovina and Rennae Stubbs. This time Myskina and Selyutina fell. It was just a great performance from Bovina and Stubbs as they won 7-5 6-3.

After the American tourney, Myskina was off to play Fed Cup for Russia. They were at home as they played against Croatia and Anastasia and the Russian squad certainly made it theirs! Myskina was part of a 4-1 victory and played young Karolina Sprem to open the proceedings. Nastya had some problems with young Sprem but put them to rest with a 6-1 3-6 6-0 win. Anastasia also played the third rubber against 1997 French Open champion Iva Majoli. Myskina played consistent in a 6-2 7-5 win. Anastasia also got the nod for the doubles with Elena Dementieva. Combined they were a lethal team and crushed the young Croat's ( Jurak and Mezak) 6-4 6-4.

Fed Cup was over and Nastya flew to Berlin for the prestigious, German Open. As the world's number 10 and 9th seed, she received a first round bye. In the second round fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva shocked Myskina by romping her 6-1 6-2! Nastya tried to start her doubles tournament but she and Elena Dementieva withdrew, giving Maria Jose Martinez and Anabel Medina Garrigues a pass into the next round. The Italian Open was next week and she really needed some wins under her belt to feel good for Paris! Did she get them?

Off to Rome went our Anastasia. This time Myskina was the world number 11 but seeded 8. So, you guessed it...she got a BYE! In the second round she played Slovenian Maja Matevzic. Anastasia played great in dismissing Maja 6-2 6-3. In the third round Nastya played the teen who beat her in California. This time she got revenge in beating Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4 7-5. In the quarterfinals Anastasia played her Aussie Open conqueror, Kim Clijsters. Kim played amazing in cruising over Myskina 6-2 6-2. Nastya wanted clay matches so bad that she entered the doubles qualies with Dinara Safina. In the first round they beat number 2 seeds Evie Dominikovic and Andreea Vanc 8-4 in a pro set. In the final round of qualifying they played Spanish bees Anabel Medina Garrigues and Maria Jose Martinez. The women played amazing in winning 7-5 6-2. In the first round of the main draw they went up against accomplished singles player Maggie Maleeva and experienced doubles player Liezel Huber. Experience won 6-2 6-0. It was a great week for Nastya as she got the clay wins she was looking for. She was anxious for more so she went to.......

Strasbourg, France! Nastya was seeded number 2 and ranked number 11 at the start of this tourney. She got a first round bye and she played cancer survivor Corina Morariu in the second round. Corina's courage was evident but Myskina shut her down by winning 6-3 7-6. In the quarters she played Italian 2 time defending champ Silvia Farina Elia. Just as Silvia had done for the past 2 years, she owned the court and trampled Anastasia 6-2 6-3. Just as Myskina had done for most of her tournaments, she played doubles, this time with Elena Likhovtseva and this time seeded 4. In the first round they outplayed Kim Grant and Bryanne Stewart 6-4 6-0. In the quarters they were stopped by eventual champs Jeyaseelan and Matevzic 6-3 7-5. Roland Garros was just around the bend and Myskina was anxious to overcome a major hurdle.

The hurdle was 3 previous first round losses at this event including a heartbreaking loss to Asagoe 7-5 in the 3rd set last year. Seeded 11 Myskina was drawn against countrywoman Dinara Safina.....again! Again she defeated Marat Safin's sister easily 6-2 6-2. She had collected her first ever win at Roland Garros and she was relieved. In the second round Nastya played 2001 quarterfinalist, Petra Mandula. Mandula proved that she was the better player and was victorious 6-3 6-4. All in all Anastasia was proud of winning a match for the first time but she was hungry for more!

Wimbledon was in a few weeks so Myskina decided to get some grass training in! She picked Eastbourne as her next event. Seeded number 5 and ranked 10, she was drawn against pesky South African, and former world number 3, Amanda Coetzer. Coetzer exploited Myskina's lack of grass practice by winning 6-2 6-4. Myskina also played doubles, this time with fellow Russian Evgenia Koulikovskaya. Even though they weren't expected to win, they gave 4th seeds Rubin and Hantuchova a run for their money before losing 6-7 6-3 6-3. Wimbledon was her next destination and she made history!

Seeded number 10, Myskina was labelled as an outsider as she was in the years first Slam. She fulfilled her outsider status again. In the first round she played Slovak Henrieta Nagyova. Nagyova was injured but Myskina played awesome in a 6-4 3-0 victory. In the second round Nastya played the resurgent Lina Krasnoroutskaya. Lina put up a great effort but it was Anastasia with more enegry and shotmaking as our Russian won 6-1 6-4. In the third round Myskina played 1994 champ Conchita Martinez. Martinez was seeded 18 but was no where near close to the form she had in beating Navratilova in '94. Myskina played solid smart tennis and defeating the Spaniard 6-3 6-3. By reaching the 4th round Myskina made history. Along with Sharapova, Dementieva, Kuznetsova, and Zvonareva, she made history by being one of five Russians in the 4th round. She also had her second best career Grand Slam result. In the fourth round she played the bold and gritty 8th seed, Jennifer Capriati. I watched this match and Jenny was just too much for Myskina. Anastasia stayed in most of the rallies but Jenny just outmuscled her from the baseline. She also played doubles with the Croatian Jelena Kostanic. Unfortunately the fell 7-5 7-5 to Anastasia's countrywomen, Lina Krasnoroutskaya and Elena Dementieva. Myskina also played mixed doubles with Britain's Jamie Delgado. Unfortunately they ran into 5th seeds Paes and Navratilova and lost 6-4 6-4. What a great week for Nastya but the best ones were ahead!

After the event, Myskina was off to play Fed Cup for Russia. They weren't at home as they played in Slovenia but Anastasia and the Russian squad certainly made it their home! Myskina was part of a 5-0 whitewash and played Maja Matevzic to open the proceedings. Nastya was way too much for young Maja and completed her great day with a 6-4 6-1 win. Anastasia was on the sidelines until the final match where she played doubles with Elena Dementieva. The Russian combo whipped the team of Krizan and Srebotnik 6-3 6-2.

Following Fed Cup Nastya opted out of playing in San Diego on hard courts and went to Sopot, Poland for a lower Tier clay court event. She was the number one seed and got a bye. In the second round she played unknown German Stephanie Gehrlein. Myskina looked ill but won 6-3 6-4. In the quarterfinals she played the woman who beat her in Paris.....Petra Mandula. Again the Hungarian prevailed but the score was 6-4 3-0 retired as Anastasia WAS ill! In the doubles she was seeded 4th along with Iroda Tulyaganova. In the first round they were upset by qualifiers Ani and Prusova, 6-3 2-6 6-0.

Sopot had concluded but now Nastya was off to Canada for the Canadian Open. She was world ranked 10 and seeded 5 so she got a bye. In the second round she played tough Australian qualifier Nicole Pratt. Pratt gave Myskina all she could handle but Anastasia had more stamina and gutted out a 3-6 7-6 6-4 victory. In the third round Myskina went up against 9th seeded countrywoman Elena Dementieva. Elena was the better player on this day, scoring a 2-6 6-1 6-1 win. Nastya stuck around for the doubles, partnering fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva. In the first round they played the pair of Nadia Petrova and Pierce. The "P"'s beat the Russians 5-7 6-0 6-3. Canada was over but Nastya had one more tourney before New York.

That tournament was New Haven. Following her great showing in Toronto, Nastya reached a new career high at number 8. She was also seeded 5 but did not get a bye. In the first round she played very pesky Israeli Anna Pistolesi. Anna played superb defense and broke down Myskina and won 6-3 6-7 6-4. Anastasia also played doubles with Vera Zvonareva as wildcards.They were beaten in the first round by eventual finalists Molik and Serna 6-2 7-5. New York welcomes Anastasia with open arms!

In Flushing Meadows, Nastya was seeded 7th and ranked 10. In the first round she played the same person she played in the Wimbledon 1st round....Henrieta Nagyova. This time the Slovak wasn't injured and put up a great fight before succumbing 6-2 3-6 6-1. In the second round Anastasia played Italian Antonella Serra Zanetti. I saw this match on T.V. and Jonny Mac was calling a match on Arthur Ashe Stadium before switching to an outside court to cover Nastya's match. The first two sets were pretty uneventful as the first went to Myskina 6-2 and Serra Zanetti took the second by the same score. The amazing part was in the third, how they kept holding their serves even though the second delivery was usually below 70 miles per hour. The third set finally ended with Myskina winning 7-6! In the third round Anastasia played Spaniard Maria Sanchez Lorenzo. This match looked to be in the Spaniard's control before Nastya turned it up a couple notches winning 2-6 6-4 6-3. In the 4th round Myskina went up against a new woman in Mary Pierce. This new woman challenged Nastya but only for a set before Anastasia prevailed 7-6 6-1. By doing this, she reached her 2nd career quarterfinal at a Slam following her appearance in Melbourne. Unfortunately she couldn't go further as number 2 seed Justine Henin-Hardenne put an end to her run 6-2 6-3. Nastya aslo played doubles with German Bianka Lamade. They played well before going down to Teryn Ashley and Abigail Spears 4-6 6-1 6-3. Anastasia also played mixed doubles wth Brian MacPhie. They played Janet Lee and Jared Palmer. They were soooo close to overtaking the duo but fell short 2-6 7-5 7-6. It was a great U.S. Open but not as good as the next few weeks.

Nastya's next destination was Leipzig, Germany. As the world number 10 and number 3 seed, she got a bye. In the second round she played countrywoman Lina Krasnoroutskaya. Nastya was dazzling in a 6-2 6-3 romp. In the quarterfinals she played another Russian in Nadia Petrova. Petrova played amazing tennis in the first set before taking a back seat to Nastya's power. The final score was 6-7 6-1 6-1 in Myskina's favor. In the semifinals, Anastasia played world number 1 Kim Clijsters. For the first time, Nastya was challenging the Belgian. She lost the 1st set 7-5 but stayed close with Kim in the second and the score was locked at 4-4 when Kim sprained her ankle. Clijsters surrendered the match and Myskina got her career best win. In the finals she was surely to be stopped again by Henin-Hardenne right? WRONG!! Myskina spoiled Henin's day with a 3-6 6-3 6-3 win to take the title and make history. She was the 22nd woman in the history of the Tour to defeat the world's top two players in an event and the first in 25 years at a European event. She also ended Henin-Hardenne's 22 match win streak which was the longest since Venus Williams' a few years ago. She also collected her 5th career title and 3rd of the year. To top it all off, she played doubles. She played with American Alexandra Stevenson. In the first round the beat Jeyaseelan and Matevzic 7-5 1-6 6-2. In the quarters they were narrowly defeated by Petrova and Likhovtseva 6-1 4-6 6-1. What an amazing week but could she do well in Moscow?

All eyes were on Nastya in her home event. She was the world number ten and 4th seed here so she got a bye! In the second round she went up against Magui Serna. Myskina lost just 4 games in a 6-3 6-1 thrashing. In the quarterfinals Nastya was even more impressive as she demolished Eleni Daniilidou 6-3 6-0. In the semifinals Myskina was more ruthless than in any of her other matches in whipping Anna Pistolesi 6-2 6-0. The finals was her second in the past 2 weeks and against Amelie Mauresmo. Mauresmo's textbook backhand worked for a while but Myskina made her country proud by winning her first Tier 1 title 6-2 6-4. During the week she only dropped 15 games, which was the least conceded by a player en route to a title in 2003. She was also the first ever Russian to win Moscow! Could it get better? OH YA!!!!!!!!! As a wildcard team with Vera Zvonareva they played 3 seeds Dementieva and Krasnoroutskaya in the first round. Astonishingly the Myskina/Zvonareva team stunned their opponents 7-5 3-6 6-4. In the quarterfinals they entertained their homecrowd again, this time by inching out a 6-7 6-1 7-5 nailbiter over Schiavone and Farina Elia. In the semifinals, people thought their girls would be fazed by playing Navratilova but they weren't at all in just sneaking out a 6-7 6-2 6-4 win over Navratilova and Kuznetsova. The finals was Myskina's first ever WTA doubles final. Sadly, they played Petrova and Shaughnessy who were experienced enough to win 6-3 6-4. It was by far Myskina's best week on the tour this year!

After her great week in Moscow, Nastya went to Filderstadt for the Grand Prix event there. She was ranked 9 and seeded 8th and played Alexandra Stevenson in the first round. Luckily but sadly, Stevenson was injured and Myskina won 0-6 6-1 4-0 retired. In the second round Anastasia was trampled by fellow Russian Elena Bovina 6-2 6-3. Again she was a wildcard team with Zvonareva in doubles and again they lost to Petrova and Shaughnessy by the same score. It was a somewhat OK week but Myskina wanted to end the year on a high note. She withdrew from Zurich with tiredness but returned in Linz.

Linz was very high up in the mountains but it attracted Anastasia Myskina. Nastya was ranked 9 and seeded 1 and got a bye. In the second round she played Elena Bovina. Anastasia proved too tough in a 6-4 3-6 6-2 grind. In the quarterfinals Patty Schnyder absolutely DISMANTLED our girl 6-1 6-1. Once again Nastya played doubles with Vera but this time their opponents were wildcards. The Russian team railed Amesbauer and Kix 6-1 6-1. In the quarterfinals, number 1 seeds Huber and Sugiyama handled them 6-3 6-1. After Linz, Myskina went off to her second last tourney of the year in Philadelphia. Did she win another title? LET'S SEE.

Anastasia was ranked 9 and seeded three so what do you think she got? A BYE! In the second round she played Aussie Nicole Pratt. This time Myskina figured out Pratt and won quite nicely 6-3 6-2. In the quarterfinals Nastya played German Marlene Weingartner. The win came easy for the Russian as she whipped Marlene 6-3 6-1. In the semis Myskina played an amazing match against Nadia Petrova. The match was filled with drama and rallies and most of all, heart. In the end there had to be a winner and it was Anastasia 6-4 4-6 7-5. In the finals, Amelie Mauresmo took revenge on Myskina by winning the crown 5-7 6-2 6-0. It was a great way to end the year but she still played the year end championships. She lost 2 of 3 matches, with her win coming against Japanese veteran Ai Sugiyama. Her final tennis appearance was Fed Cup.

Russia was hosting the semis and finals and Russia was expected to be in both. Anastasia played the second match of the tie against France. Who should she play but Mary Pierce. This match kept the Russian fans on the ends of their seats as Myskina pulled a rabbit out of a hat to win 4-6 7-6 7-5. She then played first up the next day against Amelie Mauresmo. This time Mauresmo did win 6-7 6-3 6-4. The tie was in Vera Zvonareva's hands but she couldn't do it. Myskina also played the dead doubles rubber with Petrova as they beat Loit and Cohen-Aloro 6-3 1-6 6-3. The whole Russian squad was disappointed but the next Fed Cup season looked good!

In conclusion Myskina had an amazing year. With 2 Grand Slam quarterfinals and 4 titles she is a threat to all next year. She also ended the year as the number 1 Russian and at a career high of 7. My favorite thing about you is your heart. It is admirable. You always put 100% effort out there and are a joy to watch. The only thing I think you need to do next year is bulk up. You need to add some muslce so you can challenge the Williams sisters and Capriati and the Belgians. It was an honor to write about you Nastya!

Thanks!