By Nick Georgandis

Some players peak early, some never reach their full potential.  Then there's the head-shaking cases like that of Russia's Anastasia Myskina, the ones where we can only wonder what might have been.

Although few will remember the answer to the trivia question, it was actually Myskina, not Maria Sharapova, who became the first Russian female to win a Grand Slam title, doing so at the 2004 French Open, the only major crown she would ever win in a career cut short by injury.

Myskina leapt into the WTA spotlight in 2003 when she reached the quarterfinals at both the Australian and US Opens and finished the year ranked seventh with a 46-22 record.

Myskina started 2004 with another trip to the Australian Open semifinals, won the title at Doha to climb to No. 5 in the world, but headed to Paris for Roland Garros off consecutive losses, including a second-round upset loss at Rome.

It looked like that losing streak might reach three matches in a row in the first round of the French Open as Myskina dropped her first set, but she rallied to a three-set win.

She wouldn't lose another set until the fourth round, when she fell behind No. 11 Svetlana Kuznetsova by a set, only to rally to a 1-6, 6-4, 8-6 victory.

Once she reached the quarterfinals, Myskina put her game into overdrive. She took out fourth-seeded Venus Williams 6-3, 6-4 while Jennifer Capriati was upsetting Serena Williams in another quarterfinal.

Myskina gave Capriati no quarter for her big win, whipping the American 6-2, 6-2 to reach the final against fellow Russian Elena Dementieva, the ninth seed.

National pride was at a fever pitch, but Myskina would not be denied, making short work of Dementieva, 6-2, 6-1 to take the title. She went on to finish No. 3 in the world in 2004 with a 55-18 record.

While she was plenty healthy in the first half of 2005, her heart was not in the game because of her mother's failing health. Myskina became the first woman to lose her first-round mat at Roland Garros as the defending champion, and fell out of the Top 10.

The next season was no better, as she was hurt by injuries to both her toe and her foot, playing only 49 matches and going a meager 1-7 against Top 10 players.

Myskina started 2007 ranked 15th, but loss in the first round at Auckland and did not take the court again until her favored French Open nearly six montsh later.

Now ranked 51st, the former champion could not muster any sort of competition, falling 6-1, 6-0. She has not taken the court since.