Navratilova drew cheers Thursday every time she and Nadia Petrova won a point in their doubles quarter-final, which they wound up losing to the top-seeded and defending champion Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur 7-6 (1), 6-3.

``We're still learning about each other, but it's a little late now,'' Navratilova said.

Navratilova still had at least one match left at Flushing Meadows. She teamed with Bob Bryan on Thursday night to play Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Frantisek Cermak in the mixed doubles quarter-finals.

Navratilova, who turns 50 next month, retired from the game in 1994, but returned in 2000 to play doubles, occasionally dabbling in singles, too.

``You're only as old as you feel, and I certainly don't feel 49,'' Navratilova told the crowd after losing the women's doubles match. ``I just wanted to inspire people.''

It was easy to tell that the crowd was pulling for Navratilova and Petrova, who were down 5-2 in the first set and came back to force a tiebreaker.

Noticeably quiet when either Raymond or Stosur won a point, the fans made plenty of noise when Navratilova earned one. Petrova and Raymond both used to play on Navratilova's side in doubles.

``It was a tough occasion. I've played against Martina and with her, and it was a tough match knowing it was her last U.S. Open,'' Raymond said.