"To come out riding a horse onto the court like that for the closing ceremony and wearing the Arabic dress with the crown, I felt like a princess," Hingis said. "Ever since I was a little girl, I always wanted to do something like that. Now it has come true and I can hardly believe it."

Sometimes in the hurly-burly world of professional sports we forget that many of our icons are merely young adults. Hingis, who turned 20 on the last day of September, is the age of a college sophomore or junior. Her broad smile in Doha was just another reminder that she isn't far removed from that little Slovakian girl dreaming of being a princess.

Actually, Hingis has been the reigning monarch of women's tennis since March 31, 1997, the day she ascended the throne as the Sanex WTA Tour's No. 1 ranked player. Hingis – 16 years, six months and one day old – became the youngest No. 1 since the rankings were introduced in 1975. Since that time, she has finished as the No. 1-ranked player three times in four years; the only interruption was Lindsay Davenport's breakthrough in 1998.

Hingis has been the No. 1-ranked player for 180 weeks now, passing Monica Seles (178) after Dubai. This places her fourth behind Steffi Graf (378 weeks), Martina Navratilova (331) – for whom she was named, presciently, by her mother – and Chris Evert (262). Hingis is younger than all three were when they reached 180 weeks.

"I knew I was pretty close to Monica's record, but I had no idea it would happen this week," Hingis said after winning the Dubai Open. "It is an amazing achievement. It means a lot, as I was the youngest No. 1 back in 1997 and almost four years later, I am still there."

That she is. Say what you want about the Swiss Miss's sometimes petulant attitude. Dismiss her relatively diminutive 5-foot-7, 130-pound frame and the power it can generate; no one among the top 10 ranked players is shorter and only Anna Kournikova weighs less. But do not question her focus and concentration.

While the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, seem to be more interested in fashion and Davenport goes through occasional lapses of confidence, no one in professional tennis grinds out victories better than Hingis. She won 77 matches in 2000, 20 more than anyone else. She appeared in 13 singles finals, won nine tournaments and took home $3,457,049 in prize money, all WTA bests.

This season, Hingis appears headed for an instant replay. She won the tournament in Sydney as well as the Middle East daily double, Doha and Dubai. That gives Hingis 38 career singles titles in seven years. In her other two events, she lost to Jennifer Capriati in the Australian Open final and to Davenport in the Tokyo final. That's five finals in five tries. The depth on the women's tour won't allow a season like her 56-1 run in 1997, but she was a scalding 25-2 in January and February.

The next test comes at Indian Wells, a tournament with a deep field that opens Monday. Hingis likes this tournament; she won in 1999 and reached the final last year before losing to Davenport after winning the first set.

Mind you, not everything in the Hingis orbit is strawberries and cream. There is this maddening Grand Slam thing that looms over her career like the elephant in pajamas lurking in your living room. Much has been made of the fact that Hingis has not won a Grand Slam singles title since the 1999 Australian Open. That's a streak of 0-for-8.

Hingis reached all four Slam finals in 1997 and won three of them. The first, the Australian, made her the youngest Grand Slam singles titlest in the 20th Century. She added championships in Australia in 1998 and 1999, giving her a grand total of five. While 0-for-8 is a tough stretch, to be sure, consider this context:  

Seles, who added the 1996 Australian Open to her eight previous Grand Slams, has come to the conclusion that Slams are the most important thing.

"If you would ask me how many weeks I've been No. 1, or when I was – I would have no idea," she said. "I never looked at the rankings. I still don't do it. For me, it is truly the Grand Slams."

Hingis had planned to play several doubles events this year with Seles, but announced two weeks ago that she will play singles exclusively. She sent Kournikova, her partner of two years, packing after an on-court dispute last fall in Chile. Hingis did not reach the decision easily; she has nine Grand Slam doubles titles, including last year's Australian Open. But she has come to the realization that doubles has begun to encroach on her success in singles. She blames her recent loss to Capriati in Australia on her heavy schedule.

"I'm tired of doubles," Hingis said. "Before, I would like to play doubles first to have a match on the surface, but now I prefer to practice more because the doubles matches get too tough and there's too much stress.

"Now it's very nice to only play singles. In Doha, I was at some of the parties with the sponsors, so it also gives me more freedom and more privacy so I can go do things I wouldn't attend normally."

Parties? Freedom? It's just another example of Hingis taking control of her life. After a brief, well-publicized split with her mother and coach, Melanie Monitor, a few years ago at Wimbledon, Hingis has decisively marked her turf.

Now, it's time to bear down and win a few Grand Slams. Don't bet against her this year. She has that look in her eye.

"You can't compare different eras and you don't see domination at the Grand Slams anymore with just one person like you did with Steffi or Martina," Hingis said. "These days more girls believe they have a shot at winning and that's good for the sport. I think it is unlikely that you will see the domination or the longer careers that we saw before.

"I have won Grand Slams before, and I know I will again."