Henin scrambles through test of spin

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - World number one Justine Henin scrambled into the Australian Open fourth round with a tough 7-5 6-4 victory over Italy's Francesca Schiavone on Friday.

Henin, the 2004 champion at Melbourne Park, had problems with her serve in a match characterized by exploiting angles and opening up the court rather than power, but was able to break Schiavone when she needed to.

The 25-year-old Belgian had to battle back from two break points when serving for the match and secured victory when Schiavone's desperate return from a smash went wide.

"It was a tough third round for me. Francesca is always a tough player, tough opponent, and I knew that," the top seed told reporters. "I knew it was going to be a good fight.

"Physically, she's very strong and she's running a lot. She puts a lot of spin. So it is a different kind of game than we are used to play against the other players."

Henin, who has now won 31 consecutive matches since losing in last year's Wimbledon semi-finals to Marion Bartoli, said she was aware the streak would eventually end.

"One day or another I will lose. That's the game. I hope it's going to be as late as possible," she said.

"But what I'm doing for...the last year is just great. I've been so consistent.

"But every match is different. You have to start again all the time.

"You know if you're not in your best level you know you can lose. I just want to stay focused on the main important things, because one day or another it will come that I'll have not a very good day. I hope it's not going to be for this tournament."

Henin next meets Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei.