Henin made to work for progress

Justine Henin was made to sweat in the midday sun before overcoming Kristina Barrois in the second round on a scorching afternoon at Wimbledon.

While some spectators sought shade under umbrellas and others liberally applied lotion, Henin sported a white baseball cap to keep the sun out of her eyes on Court Two.

She looked set for a swift win after moving a set and 5-2 ahead, but Barrois broke serve twice to put the match almost back in the balance. Henin was not to be upset though, and won back to back games to clinch a 6-3 7-5 victory in an hour and 22 minutes.

Henin and Barrois, both 28, met in competition for the first time only last Thursday at the s'Hertogenbosch tournament in Holland. Predictably Henin won that quarter-final match in straight sets, and she raced through her opening game in 55 seconds and followed that by immediately breaking the Barrois serve.

Barrois did not turn professional until the age of 23, a rarity in the women's game where many players have coaches, agents, sponsors, a healthy bank balance and several years on tour behind them before hitting their twenties.

The German completed her education and trained for a career in local government before tennis took over.

Former international footballer Bernd Franke, who featured in West Germany's 1982 World Cup squad, was enlisted as a fitness coach, and her progress in the world rankings - she was 192nd at the end of 2007 and is now 73rd - has been quietly impressive, if not spectacular.

Similar could be said of her game which contained plenty of guile but lacked the punch to seriously worry Henin, at least early on. She offered drop shots and clever sliced backhands, but Henin plays those shots better perhaps than anyone and has more weapons.

The second-set slump nevertheless suggested something is missing from the Belgian's game, and more searching examinations await her.