PARIS -- Martina Hingis, trying to win the French Open for the first time, began her bid Monday with an impressive straight-set victory.

Hingis took 49 minutes to beat Maria Sanchez Lorenzo of Spain, closing out the 6-2, 6-1 victory with a backhand winner.

"IT'S GOOD

Hingis might not be tested until the quarterfinals, where she could face Venus Williams. (AP)

TO BE BACK HERE," Hingis said. ``I won my first match, so I feel good.

"I lost in the finals last year. I want to do better this year."

Meanwhile, four of Hingis' potential rivals -- teen-agers Venus Williams and Anna Kournikova, defending champion Iva Majoli and No. 3 seed Jana Novotna -- all won easily.

Williams, who played her first Grand Slam tournament at last year's French Open, had a shaky first few minutes against Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand, losing the first two games. But she then recovered for a 6-3, 6-1 victory.

Williams, seeded eighth, had consecutive service winners at 108 mph in the third game of the second set.

"I WAS HAVING FUN LAST YEAR, sliding and sliding and sliding" on the clay, she said. "Now I know what to do on the court. I'm able to adjust to my opponent."

The 13th-seeded Kournikova, a Russian who has become a darling of the French press, defeated Amelie Mauresmo of France 6-2, 6-4.

Majoli, the 10th seed from Croatia who upset Hingis in last year's final, beat Pavlina Stoyanova of Bulgaria 6-3, 6-1. Novotna, of Croatia, beat American Anne Miller 7-5, 6-4. No. 9 seed Irina Spirlea of Romania lost 6-2, 6-4 to Sylvia Plischke of Austria.

No. 12 Nathalie Tauziat of France, who knocked out Williams last year, and No. 16 Lisa Raymond both lost.

In an all-American matchup, Chanda Rubin defeated Lori McNeil 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.