Mikhail Metzel, Associated Press Former Russian president Boris Yeltsin reacts as his wife Naina embraces Anastasia Myskina after Russia defeated France for the Fed Cup championship yesterday in Moscow. Click photo for larger image.

MOSCOW -- In a fitting end to a season dominated by Russian women, the country won its first Fed Cup title yesterday by edging defending champion France, 3-2, when Anastasia Myskina and Vera Zvonareva beat Marion Bartoli and Emilie Loit, 7-6 (5), 7-5, in the deciding doubles match.

Russia had lost its four previous Fed Cup finals but was led this time by French Open champion Myskina, who had a hand in each of the host's three points in the best-of-five final.

"It feels so good right now, and I feel so happy that our fans were delighted. I need nothing else," Myskina said, adding she was happier than when she won at Roland Garros in June.

The Fed Cup title capped the Russian women's domination of a year in which they won 15 singles titles, including three majors and the season-ending WTA Championships. In the final 2004 WTA Tour rankings, Russian women hold four of the top six spots and seven of the top 15.

Heading into the year, no Russian woman won a tennis major, and none had even reached a Grand Slam final since Olga Morozova in 1974.

But Myskina beat Elena Dementieva in the French Open final, Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon, and Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Dementieva for the U.S. Open title in another all-Russian final. Sharapova then won the tour championship in Los Angeles this month.

It's surprising that France managed to keep the Fed Cup final close, considering that the team's top player, second-ranked Amelie Mauresmo, pulled out, as did two-time major champion Mary Pierce.

"We could even have won the doubles. It's painful to lose when you come that close," French captain Guy Forget said. "I wish we would have lost very easily -- it would have been less painful."

The two-day final was tied, 1-1, heading into yesterday, and Myskina beat Nathalie Dechy, 6-3, 6-4, to put Russia ahead, 2-1. But Kuznetsova wasted a chance to clinch the title, losing to 16-year-old Tatiana Golovin, 6-4, 6-1.

Myskina beat Golovin Saturday.

In yesterday's doubles, the French pair wasted four set points while serving for the opener at 6-5, and French Open champion Myskina converted a break point after the game's fifth deuce with a backhand winner. Russia trailed in the tiebreaker, too, but came back from 3-0 down and won it with another backhand winner by Myskina.

In the second set, the Russians broke for a 6-5 lead, then served it out at love in front of a home crowd that included former president Boris Yeltsin.

Earlier, Kuznetsova struggled to hold her serve against Golovin, and committed 46 unforced errors a day after making 77 mistakes in a three-set loss to Dechy to open the final.

"My tactics for the match were wrong and I didn't realize it during the match," Kuznetsova said.

Myskina broke Dechy in the opening game and served out the first set.

In the second, Myskina broke in the first game again, but the Frenchwoman struck back. Myskina, however, broke again and kept attacking, not allowing Dechy to come to the net.

"I had no choice today but go on the court and win the match. The match was rather simple. There's no difficulty playing against Nathalie," said Myskina, who scored her fifth consecutive victory over Dechy. "Mentally I wasn't tired. It was more physically. I couldn't move on the court as fast as I did yesterday."