The Chinese second seed made 35 unforced errors on her way to a 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 loss.

Coming less than 24 hours after Stanislas Wawrinka's surprise exit to Spain's Guillermo Garcia-López, Li's loss means it is the first time both Australian Open champions have failed to make it past the first round in the French in the same year.

"Nobody says if you're number two in the world you have to win all the matches," said a philosophical Li - who won at Roland Garros in 2011 - after her loss.

"I mean, this is tennis, everyone comes to the court, everyone has a chance to win the match.

"It didn't matter who played against me today, I'd always lose because I don't think she had a lot of pressure from me.

"I think I just gave away the match."

Elsewhere in the women's draw, number 11 seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia saw off France's Caroline Garcia 6-1, 6-3.

Number 10 seed Sara Errani had a less comfortable passage to the second round.

The Italian's clash with Madison Keys of America went to a final set, with Errani eventually showing her class in a 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 victory.

Two-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray dropped a set on his way to beating Andrey Golubev ©Getty Images



In the men's draw, Spain's David Ferrer won 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 in his tie against Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands.

Britain's Andy Murray was also in first round action, in a match that went to four sets before the two-time Grand Slam champion completed the task against Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev 6-1, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

There was more to cheer about for the home crowd, as Gaël Monfils beat Romania's Victor Hănescu 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Tomorrow sees the start of the second round, with women's favourite Serena Williams of America and Maria Sharapova of Russia due to take to the court.

Serbian Novak Djokovic faces a tricky test against Frenchman Jérémy Chardy on Philippe Chatrier, but expected rain in Paris could disrupt the schedule.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
May 2014: Shock defeat for Wawrinka in opening round of French Open
May 2014: Top seeds progress safely to second round on day one at Roland Garros
May 2014: Nadal and Williams favourites as action gets underway at French Open
April 2014: French Open increases prize money by €3 million