Despite losing her number one ranking at the age of 29, Lindsay Davenport believes her best days may yet lie before her.

"I feel like I'm on a good path and while things didn't pan out here, I'm not giving up," said Davenport after she was beaten 2-6 6-3 6-3 by Justine Henin-Hardenne in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Tuesday.

"I'm not going to run away from it because it didn't happen in this one match.

"Certainly seeing some other players and what they've been able to accomplish a little bit later in their careers has helped me," she told a news conference.

The American almost walked away from the game 18 months ago before an impressive 2005 season, when she reached the Australian Open and Wimbledon finals, revived her love of tennis.

"I went through a period there where I wasn't enjoying it and for whatever reason, I developed a love for the game again.

"I couldn't see my life right now without it. So while that's the case, I'll keep going forward and keep trying to improve and stay on top."

One of the reasons given for Davenport's apparent reversal of her decision to quit was the regaining of the top ranking.

The three-time grand slam champion has held the number one spot for 14 consecutive weeks since last October and for a total of 98 weeks in her career.

Davenport says the ranking is no longer what drives her on.

"I don't want to disrespect it by saying it's low on the priority, but it's not up in my priority list.

"My whole goal is to try and get better and play really well in the tournaments I decide to play.

"I'll be playing fewer tournaments this year anyway. So it's inevitable it will happen."

Davenport will now return to the United States to recover from an injury she sustained in an earlier round when she rolled her ankle while hitting a volley.

The break will also help her decide which tournaments she will enter for the remainder of the year.

"While my ankle felt good tonight, I'm sure tomorrow it will be a little bit sore and swollen.

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