After Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Co, it's time for a male Russian revolution!

 

Tennis is becoming even more popular in Russia and the men look set to start catching their female colleagues in the success stakes. 

Russian women have made huge strides on the WTA tour over the last five years and dominate the rankings with 14 ladies currently in the world's top 100. The likes of Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anastasia Myskina have all won Grand Slam events in recent years and players such as Elena Dementieva and Vera Zvonerava have come mighty close to matching the success of their colleagues.

It's great to see that if one Russian player has a dip in form there is always another one on the conveyor belt ready to grab the limelight and success. The girls seem to feed on each other's success and if it wasn't for a few excellent players such as Belgium's Justine Henin, Serbians Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic and the Williams sisters, Russia would win practically every major tournament. 

It is an amazing achievement from a nation which used to be known more for its athletics champions and winter sports such as ice hockey.