PARIS -- Lindsay Davenport's return to the French Open after a two-year break was cut short in the fourth round when she withdrew from her match against Conchita Martinez with a foot injury on Sunday.

Martinez will now face No. 2 seeded Kim Clijsters, who nearly joined Davenport on the sidelines, only because of poor play not injury.

The former world No. 1, who said the foot problem had been bothering her for a month, was trailing 6-4, 2-0 against her Spanish opponent.

"It's terribly frustrating. I was so frustrated about what I had to do, stay or quit. Maybe I should have quit straightaway," sixth-seeded Davenport said.

"It's something that has been flaring up and down for one month, on and off," she said.

"I have a sac of fluid underneath my fourth toe. I just have to do some more tests to figure out exactly what's wrong."

For 19 spellbinding minutes Clijsters was rocked, confused and in a state of panic. Just over an hour later she took her place in the quarterfinals, having completed a remarkable comeback.

In truth, the second seed's 0-6, 6-2, 6-1 win had as much to do with Magdalena Maleeva's capitulation as anything the Belgian conjured.

Clijsters sent ill-conceived drop shots halfway up the net and looped groundstrokes well beyond the baseline as Maleeva skipped around the arena belting the ball with all her might.

However, as the Bulgarian sat down at the end of the opening set, what should have been the foundation for a famous victory crumbled before her eyes.

Discarding the abandon with which she had been striking the ball, Maleeva allowed Clijsters off the hook and the Belgian took full advantage, setting Maleeva scampering around the court and reversing the momentum of the match.

Maleeva won just three more games as Clijsters closed out the win in 81 minutes and the second seed's relief was palpable.

The withdrawal was all the more disappointing for Davenport, a former Wimbledon, U.S. Open and Australian Open champion as she missed most of 2002 while recovering from knee surgery.

Health problems returned for the newly married 26-year-old in Madrid this season, when she had to pull out with an hamstring injury.

"I don't think it was a mistake to come here. I've missed not playing here," said Davenport, who has missed the last two French Open tournaments due to the knee injury.

Davenport lost in the first round of her last visit to Roland Garros in 2000.

"I want to try to win here and play as many slams as I can," she insisted. "But the more years you play, the less and less chances you have at slams."

Despite the latest in a long series of injuries, Davenport said she was not contemplating quitting the game altogether.

"Not yet. I don't think that this is going to be another six or eight months.

"If I was faced with that situation, I don't think there would be much question, it would probably be too difficult to go through all that and come back again.

"You know, injuries are a way of life in pro sports."