French hope Mary Pierce pleased the home crowd greatly by beating the Swiss teenager but Hingis made a much more controlled exit than last year when was jeered throughout her tantrum-filled defeat in the final by Steffi Graf.
The French crowd did not miss the opportunity to remind Hingis of her petulance, whistling her loudly each time she went to the net to question calls.
``I knew what to expect from the crowd,'' said Hingis. ``I watched the other matches when Safin played Pioline and Mary played Monica (Seles).
``I knew I couldn't expect the crowd to be on my side.''
Hingis's obsession with the French crown drove her to distraction and then collapse against Graf.
She complained, argued with the umpire, sat down in protest, was docked a penalty point and served underarm on match point.
Hingis then had to be persuaded by her mother and coach Melanie Molitor to return to court to attend the trophy presentation.
This year Hingis arrived in Paris trying to play down the importance of the title she craves. ``I don't need the French Open to survive,'' she said.
But try as she might to hide behind her engaging smile, it was impossible to disguise the disappointment of again failing to capture the one grand slam title prize missing from her collection.
``Thanks for this question,'' said a sarcastic Hingis, when asked how she felt after the loss. ``I've heard it a million times -- how do I feel?''
Hingis will have to quickly shake-off any lingering disappointment and hard-feelings.
She remains in the doubles, partnered by Pierce, and then begin preparations for Wimbledon, where her collapse bottomed out last year with a first round defeat by Jelana Dokic.