ROME (AP) -- Martina Hingis, bacl after a month away from tennis, opened the defense of her Italian Open title with a matter-of-fact rout today.

The Swiss teen-ager improved her record in Rome to 10-1 overall with the 6-1, 6-1 victory over unseeded Frenchwoman Natalie Dechy, and moved into the third round at the $1 million clay-court tournament.

Hingis hadn't played singles since winning on clay at Hilton Head, S.C., in early April. She has said she relaxed her schedule to be fresh at the French Open, the only Grand Slam event she hasn't won -- and the only one played on clay.

``It's good to be back out there. Physically, I think I'm stronger than probably ever,'' Rome's No. 1 seed said.

Hingis next plays unseeded American Corina Morariu, who beat Romanians Ruxandra Dragomir 6-2, 6-3.

Hingis and the other top eight seeds had first-round byes.

Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, working to get her clay game back on track before defending her French Open crown, needed just 67 minutes to join Hingis in the third round. The second seed eliminated American Kristina Brandi 6-0, 6-2.

Other seeds advancing today included No. 5 Patty Schnyder, who beat local wild-card entry Adriana Serra Zanetti, No. 8 Sandrine Testud, No. 11 Dominique Van Roost, a three-set winner over Belgian countrywoman Sabine Appelmans, and No. 15 Conchita Martinez, a four-time Italian Open champion.