Hinteregger, 23, hauled Ronaldo down in the 78th minute of the Group F clash at the Parc des Princes but the Real Madrid star misfired from the spot, hitting the post.
Austria held on to secure their first point of the European Championship and Hinteregger was delighted to be given a reprieve.
“It was a feeling of relief,” the Borussia Monchengladbach defender told Sport360 after the game. “Before he took it I was so angry with myself because I knew it was a foul and a mistake by me.
“So when he missed his penalty, I was so happy – I was the happiest man in France. It was so great that we got one point.
Hinteregger admitted that the foul was down to Ronaldo’s physicality, saying: “The left-winger crossed the ball and Cristiano came sprinting to me. No-one can defend against him when he sprints like that.
“I went to block him but he is so strong, he is like a machine. We fought to be first for the ball but he won this fight.”
Austria became the first team since Spain at Euro 2012 to stop Portugal from scoring in a European Championship and Hinteregger said he relished the opportunity to come up against Ronaldo.
“He was unbelievable,” Hinteregger said. “Now I know that he is the best player in the world. He really is the best player – I’m so happy that he didn’t score against us. “
Austria take on Iceland in their final group game knowing a win should be enough to take them through to the last-16 and Hinteregger is optimistic of securing a knockout berth.
“We are confident now,” he said. “We wanted to get one point in this game to prepare us for the final game. Now we can get a win to go through to the next round.”