Italian Open
Safina had beaten a series of higher-ranked players en route to the final, including world number two Kim Clijsters, but her form deserted her as she sprayed shots long and wide.
She made numerous unforced errors to lose her first three service games of the match and go 5-0 down.
She finally came alive when Hingis earned two match points against her serve in the ninth game in the second set.
An ace and an unreturnable first serve kept Safina in the contest and when Hingis snatched at a forehand long in the following game to drop serve, the Russian levelled at 5-5.
Safina's comeback was short-lived.