PARIS – Martina Hingis thinks she knows what it takes to finally win the French Open. That's why the world's No. 1-ranked player has her mother by her side.

	Top-seeded Martina Hingis of Switzerland, left, shares a laugh with her mother Melanie Molitor at Roland Garros stadium.

After cutting loose from her mother's coaching two months ago, Hingis had a change of heart for the French Open – the only Grand Slam tournament she has never won.

"A Grand Slam is business. It's not about how you feel – if you want to be independent or not," Hingis said after eliminating her first-round opponent, Spain's Gala Leon Garcia, 6-1, 6-0.

"Right now, it's important to me that my mom is here."

For now at least, Hingis' mother, Melanie Molitor, has resumed the professional role she plays for her daughter and is by Hingis' side in practice and on court.

"I'm very happy that she's here. She's the best coach I could ever have," the 20-year-old Swiss player said.

The strategy paid off Tuesday when Hingis eliminated 47th-ranked Leon Garcia in just 58 minutes.

"It was just one of those matches you have to get over and done with," a smiling and relaxed Hingis said.

The near future looks equally as promising.

This year, the field of top women's players has cleared early. Of the top five, only No. 4 Jennifer Capriati remains along with Hingis. Second-seeded Venus Williams and No. 5 Amelie Mauresmo were ousted in the first round and No. 3 Lindsay Davenport withdrew with a knee injury.

Hingis doesn't have to face a seeded player until the fourth round, where she could meet No. 17 Sandrine Testud of France.

A quarterfinal matchup could pit Hingis against No. 8 Conchita Martinez, the runner-up last year.

"For me right now, there's nothing I have to worry about," said Hingis, who has not won a Grand Slam tournament title since the 1999 Australian Open, one of her five Grand Slam crowns. "If I go out there and play my game, they have to beat me. That's all I can say. They have to beat me."

If Tuesday's match left Hingis pumped with confidence, she attributes the boost to her mother's return.

"I know with her it's going to take me further than alone," she said. "I want to do well here. I try to give myself the best chance I can."

The mother and daughter agreed to sever professional ties after Hingis lost to Venus Williams in the quarterfinals in Key Biscayne in March. Molitor told Swiss media the two had needed some distance because their personal relationship was suffering.

But Hingis might have learned her lesson from Wimbledon 1999.

In her mother's absence, the top-seeded Hingis lost a humiliating first-round match to Jelena Dokic, then 16 and ranked 129th in the world. She had split from her coach two weeks earlier after losing the French Open final to Steffi Graf and leaving the court in tears.

"I know what it's like to lose in the first round," Hingis said Tuesday. "I've been there."

Now she's passed that hurdle. Could this be The Year for Hingis?

"I'm ready," she said with nervous laughter. "At least I try to be."