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Belgium's Justine Henin reacts - Source: Reuters -
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Justine Henin continued her fairytale comeback with a 6-2 6-2 demolition of Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova in the first round of the Indian Wells WTA tournament on Thursday.
The 27-year-old Belgian, a dangerous wildcard entry at the desert venue where she won the women's title in 2004, broke her opponent twice in each set to triumph in 68 minutes.
Henin sealed victory with a powerful first serve that forced a wide return by Rybarikova and the Belgian then waved in celebration to the stadium crowd at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
"It's a great feeling," a smiling Henin said in a courtside interview after booking her place in the next round against 31st-seeded Gisela Dulko of Argentina.
"2004 seems like a long time ago and it's always special to play in the first round. It's only my third tournament since I came back and I need a lot of matches."
Henin has reached successive finals since returning to the circuit in January after quitting the game in 2008 and she totally outclassed her opponent on a sunny afternoon.
Wearing a pink outfit, the Belgian broke Rybarikova in the first and third games of the match to sweep through the opening set in 36 minutes.
Showing no signs of rust in her first match since losing to American Serena Williams in the Australian Open final in late January, Henin broke the Slovakian's serve twice more early in the second set to coast to victory.
A seven-times grand slam champion, the Belgian will not earn WTA ranking points until the end of the Indian Wells tournament but she lurks as a dangerous threat to all of her opponents.
Should Henin advance to the third round, she is likely to face fifth seed Agneiszka Radwanska of Poland while fourth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva is also in her quarter of the draw.
