SQL & PL/SQL

I'm trying to evaluate some xml to determine if it matches some criterium.

MyXmlColumns contains the following kind of data "<Values><Value>data1</Value><Value>data2</Value><Values>"

When I execute the following query I get zero rows returned when it should match some rows containing this data.

select * from mydata
where existsNode(MyXmlColumn, '/Values/Value[. > "data1"= 1

The question is why greter than, lesser than, does not work, and if there is any alternative.
If I use equals operator, or greater than but using a number it works.

I know that I can use XmlExists function but I'm using Oracle 9i r2 so it's not an option.

Thanks in advance for any suggestion.