Russia had three of the top four seeds in the girls singles draw at The Championships at Wimbledon this year, including the #1 and #2 seeds. Guess how many made it to the semi-finals. That's right, zero. All were eliminated by lower-ranked non-Russians, and only two made it as far as the quarters. The semi-finals were contested by four non-Russians.

How about the ladies draw? Again, no Russian made it as far as the semi-finals in the ladies' singles draw, despite Russia having three of the top eight seeds. #8 Anna Chakvetadeze was eliminated by a lower-ranked player in the third round, #5 Svetlana Kuznetsova was eliminated (in easy straight sets) in the quarter-finals by a lower-ranked player and #2 Maria Sharapova was eliminated in the fourth round, also by a lower-ranked player (in even easier straight sets). Sharapova, Russia's best player on paper, humiliated herself for the second time this year in a grand slam event, getting blown off the court in a totally one-sided thrashing by a player not even ranked in the world's top 20 that exposed her as the fraud she always has been, confirming emphatically that her prior title at Wimbledon was a freak occurrence. The same thing obtained in the ladies' doubles draw, where only one Russian, Elena Likhovtseva, got as far as the quarter finals, where she was eliminated. Only once in history has a Russian woman defeated a non-Russian woman to win a grand slam event, and that Russian learned her game in the United States, lives there, and reached the finals of that event only after being saved from humiliating defeat by a rain delay.

So much for the so-called "dominance" of Russian female tennis players. It's all illusion, just like economic prowess and democracy in Russia are illusions. And don't forget that the Russian women are better than the Russian men; the women had a quarter-finalist in both singles and doubles, whilst the Russian men had a quarter-finalist in neither event.

Finally, check out the head-to-head comparison of the USA and Russia at The Championships. The USA wins in every singles category right down the line and three of five doubles categories. So much for Russian "dominance." It's in fact America that was dominant. America reached the finals in four of nine categories and won two titles; Russia reached the finals in only one category, which it one (it had 50% of the girls' doubles team, a rather lowly achievement indeed).

----------------------USA-------------RUSSIA----Head to Head Winner

Men's Singles--------Quarters------Fourth Round----------USA

Women's Singles---Winner---------Quarters---------------USA

Men's Doubles-------Finals----------Second Round----------USA

Women's Doubles---Semis-----------Quarters--------------USA

Mixed Doubles ------Third Round----Semis-----------------RUSSIA

Boy's Singles---------Winner-----------Second Round---------USA

Girl's Singles---------Finals------------Quarters-------------USA

Boy's Doubles---------Semis-----------Quarters-------------USA

Girl's Doubles---------Second Round----------Winner--------RUSSIA