Serena Williams knocked out of French Open

Pre-tournament favourite Serena Williams has been knocked out of the French Tennis Open in the first round.

She led Virginie Razzano by a set and 5-2 in the second set tie break, before inexplicably self destructing.

Razzano finally closed out the match 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 on her 8th match point.

It's the first time in 47 appearances Williams has lost in the opening round of a grand slam.

And a tennis umpire has been caught in Serena Williams' sights again, but she's a little less strident in her criticism this time around.

Williams had an angry clash with umpire Eva Asderaki during her last year's US Open final defeat against Samantha Stosur.

"She's not a favourite amongst the tour, but you know, it was like, I don't know... Was she the one that did my US Open match last year? Yeah, I just really had a flashback."

All the other big names have gone through comfortably, including Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova, but New Zealand's Marina Erakovic has lost in the first round in the straight sets.

Photo: Serena Williams (Getty Images)