PARIS (AP) -- Martina Hingis, who left the 1999 French Open to jeers and in tears, returned today to Roland Garros and beat Sabine Appelmans 6-0, 6-4 in the opening match on center court.

Hingis, eager to erase the memory of her emotional meltdown against Steffi Graf in last year's final, walked onto the sun-splashed court to polite applause and a couple of whistles from the few hundred fans in the stands. She lost only eight points in the first set, won the match in 52 minutes and walked off smiling this time.

Fans booed when Hingis blew a lead and threw a tantrum in the final a year ago, and she sobbed in her mother's arms during the closing ceremony.

``It was an unbelievable emotional thing,'' said Hingis, 19. ``Since then many things have changed. I'm playing well now. I'll just try to have a good tournament and see how it goes. If there's someone better than me, it's not a drama.''

Hingis said she has recovered from a foot injury that caused her to withdraw from the Italian Open earlier this month. She said she has been warmly received since arriving Tuesday in Paris.

``I've never had so many people recognize me walking on the street in regular clothes,'' she said. ``It was real nice.''

There will be no rematch with Graf, who has retired. Hingis is top-seeded and bidding for the only Grand Slam title she has yet to win.

``It is the hardest one,'' she said. ``Physically you have to be at the top. You have to be much more patient and in control of what you're doing. That's not always easy for two weeks straight.''

The tournament opened with breezy, chilly weather that had players grousing and fans lining up to buy souvenir sweaters. Gusts resulted in some ragged play but few early upsets.

``In the French Open I've never seen wind like this,'' Monica Seles said after beating Silvija Talaja 6-2, 6-2. ``It's very difficult conditions.''

Seles is seeking her fourth French Open title and her first since 1992. She has won three tournaments this year and is seeded third.

Jennifer Capriati, whose ranking rose to the top 15 earlier this year, lost to Fabiola Zuluaga 6-3, 7-5 for her fourth consecutive defeat since late March,

Capriati said a recent split with coach Harold Solomon wasn't a factor in her slump. Instead she blamed Achilles' tendinitis, which interfered with her practice and tournament schedule.

``This clay-court season wasn't anything I wanted, that's for sure,'' she said. ``Hopefully I can bounce back from this quickly and not get discouraged.''

Two other Americans ousted seeded players. Meghann Shaughnessy upset No. 12 Julie Halard-Decugis of France 7-5, 6-4, and Jan-Michael Gambill beat No. 8 Nicolas Kiefer 6-3, 7-5, 6-1.

1997 champion Gustavo Kuerten raced to a fast start, winning the first 15 games and beating Andreas Vinciguerra 6-0, 6-0, 6-3.

Andre Agassi will be hard-pressed to repeat his memorable run to the 1999 title, but he's top-seeded in the men's draw and among the favorites. That's in contrast to last year, when Agassi arrived in Paris with a No. 14 ranking, a sore shoulder and slim hopes of lasting two weeks in the most grueling Grand Slam.

``Having no expectations from the public and yourself coming in here last year was certainly part of why the story was so incredible,'' Agassi said Sunday. ``I feel much more prepared this year than I was last year.''

Agassi makes the claim even though he hasn't reached a final since winning the Australian Open in January. His record since then is a modest 12-5, and he has played just three matches -- at Rome -- in the past six weeks.

But at age 30, Agassi pronounced himself fit, fresh and ready for the long points and long matches that make the French Open unique.

``To win here, you have to physically be at your best,'' he said. ``That's why you've seen a lot of players who win early coming into this tournament that don't necessarily win here.''

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