Henin makes short work of erratic Schnyder
LONDON, July 2 (Reuters) Justine Henin marched into the Wimbledon quarter-finals today with a straightforward 6-2 6-2 defeat of a lacklustre Patty Schnyder.
The top-seeded Belgian, bidding for the one title she needs to complete a career grand slam, needed just 56 minutes to end her Swiss opponent's weak challenge.
Things will probably get a good deal tougher for the 25-year-old in the last eight where Serena Williams awaits, should the American seventh seed overcome Slovak Daniela Hantuchova.
Henin did not bring her best game to the court on Monday, but did not need to against the normally gritty Schnyder.
''I was a bit surprised the match was so quick,'' Henin told reporters. ''I've done my job perfectly so far.'' Schnyder lost her opening two service games with a catalogue of unforced errors and although she did get on the scoreboard when Henin dropped serve at 3-0 there was only ever going to be one outcome.
The 28-year-old Schnyder, making her first foray into the fourth round here in her 12th appearance at Wimbledon, served three double faults to hand Henin a 4-1 lead.
Henin won the first set when, at 40-30, she had a forehand called out but the subsequent challenge showed she had been wronged. The point was replayed and Schnyder obliged by making a mess of a service return.
The pattern continued in the second set with Henin in cruise control and she finished off the one-sided contest with a booming serve down the middle.
Henin, who completed a hat-trick of French Open titles last month, has dropped just 15 games in her four rounds so far.
She said the conditions had been tough, although she was lucky to get through quickly and on schedule despite the rain that has blighted the tournament.
''It's heavy and humid and windy, but I've been pretty lucky to escape the worst of it so far,'' she said.
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