Merciless Henin quashes Yuan to make amends

LONDON, June 27 (Reuters) Justine Henin-Hardenne buried memories of her shock exit last year with a ruthless 6-0 6-1 win over China's Yuan Meng in the first round at Wimbledon today.

The French Open champion, who was beaten in the opening round here 12 months ago, showed little mercy to an opponent making her debut at the grasscourt grand slam.

After wasting two set points with successive double faults, the Belgian third seed sealed the first set with a glorious backhand crosscourt winner.

With Henin-Hardenne threatening to run away with the match at 4-0 up in the second, Yuan, ranked 99th, finally registered a game after 46 minutes to draw loud cheers from the packed Centre Court crowd.

The reprieve was short-lived and Henin-Hardenne ended Yuan's ordeal with a backhand volley.

REUTERS DH VC1942