No on-court interview. No glance around the stadium. No moment of soaking it all in. No opportunity for a prolonged ``Thank you and goodbye'' from the fans of the sort lavished on Andre Agassi.

Then again, who's to say how many more U.S. Opens are left for Davenport? She's certainly unsure.

Davenport, at 30 the oldest female quarter-finalist, first broached the possibility of retirement more than two years ago, but she also knows she's capable of playing well enough to contend on tour. So she answered simply, ``I don't know,'' when asked whether she'll be back at the Open.

``I still feel like I would have beaten most players today,'' Davenport said after bowing out 6-4, 6-4 to Henin-Hardenne in a match between two women who used to be ranked No. 1 and have won this tournament.

Current No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo's bid for a third major title of the season progressed without a hitch when she beat No. 12 Dinara Safina 6-2, 6-3. Her semifinal foe will be No. 3 Maria Sharapova of Russia or No. 27 Tatiana Golovin, who were scheduled to play Wednesday night.

``I'm just out here still playing, still trying to figure things out, still enjoying it, still being successful,'' the 10th-seeded Davenport said. ``I'm just kind of still (going to) follow this road and see where it goes.''

For her, the immediate path is a flight to Indonesia for a hard-court tournament that begins Monday. For the second-seeded Henin-Hardenne, what's next is a semifinal Friday against No. 19 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia. If she wins that, Henin-Hardenne would become the first woman since Switzerland's Martina Hingis in 1997 to reach all four Grand Slam finals in one year.

Henin-Hardenne won the French Open in June, and was the runner-up to Mauresmo at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

It's been quite a transformation for Mauresmo, who played 31 majors over 11 seasons without winning one _ until this year. In 2004, she moved atop the rankings right after the U.S. Open, despite losing in the quarter-finals; until Wednesday, she had been eliminated at Flushing Meadows at that stage in four of the past five years.

``It was annoying when, two years ago, I got the No. 1 ranking and I kept being asked that question: `Yes, but you haven't won a Grand Slam, blah, blah, blah. Is it normal?''' Mauresmo said.

Well, that's certainly a concern of the past. So, too, is Mauresmo's distaste for the U.S. Open, which she's called her least favourite major, in part because of the raucous atmosphere and the half-hour _ or longer _ car rides from player hotels in Manhattan to the tournament site in Queens.

``It's really something special that you have to get used to, in fact. That's really what makes a big difference here,'' Mauresmo said. ``Before, maybe, I felt not so comfortable with that. I feel today it's really much, much better.''

The Open always will hold a special place in Davenport's heart because it was the first Grand Slam title she won, back in 1998.

``You're a baby at that stage. Unfortunately, you're doing the most important thing in your career at such a young age. It's very hard to take in. I feel like I'm more of a woman now. I'm married,'' she said. ``It just seems like it's so funny for me to look back on those years. It seems like a really long time ago.''

She missed several months this season with a bad back, then came to the Open with a right arm problem that forced her to quit in the final of a tuneup tournament against Henin-Hardenne. But Davenport saved two match points in the third round here, and managed to hang in for some lengthy exchanges Wednesday.

Actually, it was Henin-Hardenne who called for the trainer after winning the first set and got her back massaged. Henin-Hardenne then lost the first five points of the second set, and was broken to trail 3-1 when Davenport smacked a good return that Henin-Hardenne couldn't handle.

``She still has tennis left in her,'' said Davenport's coach, Adam Peterson. ``Even at her age, to be able to compete, it shows what a great athlete and tennis player she is.''

Henin-Hardenne agreed.

``You need to try to move her, but it's not easy because she's hitting the ball very, very hard,'' the Belgian said. ``It's the best Lindsay I've played.''

Henin-Hardenne managed to break right back in the second set, then broke again for a 5-4 edge when Davenport made five errors, three with backhands, two with forehands.

``You want to go far in the tournament, but some days when you feel like you played pretty well and would have beaten most players, and another girl played better than you _ there's not a whole lot you can do,'' Davenport said.