Mauresmo Sits on Top of the World

PARIS —  Amelie Mauresmo was unusually relaxed, laughing after a mishap with her chair at the start of her pre-French Open news conference.

The Frenchwoman is coming off her first Grand Slam tournament victory, at the Australian Open in January, is ranked No. 1 in the world and is the top-seeded woman in the French Open, which starts today.

The victory in Melbourne, as well as her win at the 2005 season-ending championships in Los Angeles, have brought about a new serenity for Mauresmo.

“The pressure is here,” she said. “There’s no question about that. I can say I feel different from the other years when it was a little bit of a struggle for me.”

Mauresmo, defending champion Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium, Nadia Petrova of Russia and Kim Clijsters of Belgium are considered the favorites. Managing to slip a foot in the door just behind them is none other than Martina Hingis of Switzerland.

Hingis, off the tour for three years because of injuries, emerged from retirement in January with no ranking. She hit No. 14 on Monday and will be seeded 12th here, coming off a recent title at the Italian Open.

“She is a threat, looking at the way she played not only on clay, but since the beginning of the season,” Mauresmo said of Hingis. “She seems to have really closed the gap physically from when she stopped playing three years ago.”

Hingis’ first match is against Lisa Raymond, and the reaction from the French crowd should be interesting. Hingis last played here in 2001, and she did not seem truly forgiven at the time by the spectators for her emotional meltdown and controversial behavior during her loss to Steffi Graf in the 1999 final.