The 1999 champion, who hobbled through a first-round victory, withdrew hours before her second-round match against Gisela Dulko.
Davenport’s knee has bothered her for several weeks. She said an MRI exam this week showed no structural damage, but she struggled warming up Thursday morning.
“I felt like I was about 25, maybe 30 percent,” she said. “In a first-, second-round match, it’s just not good enough. It’s not going to get better the more I play on it.”
Davenport said she was told to rest for three or four weeks. She was selected Thursday to the U.S. Olympic team and said she expects to be healthy enough to play in Beijing.
The 32-year-old Davenport, who returned to the women’s tour last year after becoming a mother, played her first match at Wimbledon since 2005 on Tuesday. With her knee heavily taped, she beat Renata Voracova 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.
The MRI after the match revealed inflammation and fluid behind the kneecap.
“I worked hard to get ready to play here,” she said. “If I learned anything over my career, this is the way it goes sometimes.
“I was like almost in tears the other night. I was so relieved it was nothing major, like doesn’t require surgery. So that actually put me in probably a better mood than I should be.”
Davenport has flirted for years with retirement, and she hesitated when asked if she expects to be back at Wimbledon in 2009.
“I guess not, but it didn’t go into my mind today like, ‘Oh, this is my last chance to play here,”’ she said. “I haven’t analyzed it to that point yet.”
Davenport beat Steffi Graf in the 1999 final and was second in 2004 and ’05. She had not been eliminated before the quarterfinals since 1997.
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