The 19-year-old Swiss, Hingis had a bye in the first round and easily advanced today by routing countrywoman Emmanuelle Gagliardi, 6-2, 6-2.

Hingis, who displaced American Lindsay Davenport to return to No. 1 in the world on Monday, is coming off a victory at last week's Betty Barclay Cup in Hamburg. It was the fourth title of the year for Hingis, who has an 11-match winning streak.

The third-seeded Conchita Martinez of Spain actually had an easier time than Hingis and advanced to the third round with a 6-0 victory over Austria's Sylvia Plischke, who was forced to retire after the first set with a leg injury. Martinez is a two-time champion at this event.

Julie Halard-Decugis, the fourth seed, also advanced to the third round with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Slovakia's Ludmila Cervanova. The Frenchwoman lost in the final here last year to Hingis.

Hingis faces a depleted field this week. Davenport is not entered and U.S. Open champion Serena Williams of the United States withdrew with a left knee injury.

There were six seeds in action in the first round today, with five advancing.

Ninth seed Amelie Mauresmo of France defeated Bulgarian Pavilina Nola, 6-3, 6-1; No. 16 Amanda Coetzer of South Africa ousted Tatiana Poutchek of Belarus, 6-1, 6-0; 12th-seeded Silvija Talaja of Croatia got by Anne-Gaelle Sidot of France, 6-1, 6-2; No. 14 Sabine Appelmans of Belgium defeated Italy's Giulia Casoni, 6-2, 6-4; and No. 15 American Chanda Rubin coasted to a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Germany's Barbara Rittner, 6-1, 6-4.

No. 11 Ai Sugiyama of Japan was the lone seed in action to lose, dropping a 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 decision to Romania's Catalina Cristea.

First prize is $166,900. This tournament is being contested for the 93rd time, trailing only the U.S. Open (113), Wimbledon (106) and the Canadian Open (100) as women's tournaments that have been running longer.