Anastasia Myskina at Dubai Tennis Open

Myskina learns truth the hard way
By Alaric Gomes, Staff ReporterDubai:

Life has indeed taken a full turn for Anastasia Myskina as the Russian sensation resets her targets for 2006.

"There's much more to life than just playing tennis, and I am happy I learnt things the hard way," Myskina told Gulf News during a chat yesterday.

As Myskina notched up her best-ever performances through the 2004 season climbing to an all-time high of No 2 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, she saw her world come crumbling down after her mother was struck with throat cancer. "It changed me, not merely as a person, but more importantly as a tennis player," she reflected.

Though playing on the Tour, Myskina found herself very disinterested and distracted in everything she did.

"I was getting used to the fact that I've got to be on court. Life became very insipid and I was just going from one tournament to another," she disclosed.

Hence, she did the next best thing by turning more towards the family, with her mother as the focal point of her attention. And things definitely started getting better.

"I started appreciating life, my mother got better after treatment and, in fact, she has come along with me for this tournament," Myskina said with a smile.

But now with her mother having recovered completely, Myskina is prepared to give her ambition of becoming world No 1 another shot. "Yes, I do have the potential to be up there among the best players," said the 24-year-old Russian, who is presently ranked at No 11 on the Tour.

"Most probably, breaking into the top 10 would be an immediate priority. After that, it would be to come down the rankings and aim for the top spot," Myskina disclosed.