Distraught Li Na bewildered by loss to Kristina Mladenovic

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  • Just not her day: Li Na was bewildered by how badly she played in the opening round.

    In a bizarre and unprecedented twist, both reigning Australian Open champions have exited the French Open in the opening round as Li Na joined Stan Wawrinka on the shocking casualties list.

    The world No2 and 2011 champion appeared gravely concerned following her 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 defeat to 21-year-old Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic – ranked 103 – and said her loss was much more than simply a bad day in the office.

    The Chinese star hit a total of 37 unforced errors throughout the match and was later very critical of her inability to come up with the right game plan on court against Mladenovic.

    "I don't think it would have mattered who played me today, I would have always lost the match. 

    “I don’t think she was putting a lot of pressure on me. I just gave the match away. Today is not about a tennis game. It’s about so many things that were wrong. I don’t think I’m doing well.

    “I don’t think it is only just a bad day. I think probably it is about myself. Of course, the easy thing I can say is it was a bad day for me, but it’s not. I’m 100 per cent sure."

    Li Na insists it wasn’t about pressure catching up to her and said she felt good in the build-up to the match including the warm-up but that she lost her focus during the contest.

    Mladenovic went up 3-1 early in the match but Li Na struck back to level and even had two set points on her opponent’s serve at 4-5.

    But the 21-year-old saved both set points and broke Li Na in the 12th game to take a one-set lead. Mladenovic looked frustrated as she dropped the second set but she found a second gear in the decider, breaking twice more en route to victory.

    “It’s definitely a huge thing for me, the first round of Grand Slam at home. And it is not just any other seeded player. It’s Li Na. So I needed some time to realise that and to enjoy that,” said the former world No36, who next plays American Alison Riske.

    “But definitely you don’t beat Li Na and think about losing the next round. It will be a shame.”

    Ana Ivanovic, a champion in Paris in 2008, took out French youngster Caroline Garcia 6-1, 6-3 in 67 minutes to set up a second round with another promising up-and-comer Elina Svitolina.

    Fourth-seeded Simona Halep and 15th-seeded Sloane Stephens were also winners on day three.

    Gone too soon
    Seeds knocked out in 1st round

    Men’s
    Stan Wawrinka (SUI) [3]
    Kei Nishikori (JPN) [9]
    Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) [11]
    Tommy Haas (GER) [16]
    Nicolas Almagro (ESP) [21]
    Vasek Pospisil (CAN) [30]

    Women’s
    Li Na (CHN) [2]
    Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) [13]
    Roberta Vinci (ITA) [17]
    Kaia Kanepi (EST) [25]
    Klara Koukalova (CZE) [30]

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