Li latest Oz champ to lose in Paris

— -- PARIS -- Tennis, more than ever, is a volatile entity.

On Monday, the reigning Australian Open men's champion departed the French Open in the first round. Afterward, Stan Wawrinka all but admitted that the pressure of coming in as a major champion and being ranked No. 3 in the world undid him.

"I need to put the puzzle back together," Wawrinka said in his postmatch interview, "but differently than in the past, because now it's after winning Grand Slam, Masters 1000, being No. 3 in the world, everything is different. And I still didn't find all the pieces."

He's not the only champion searching for answers. On Tuesday, the other current Australian Open titleholder, Li Na of China, matched Wawrinka's shockingly early exit. The 2011 French Open champion came out oddly flat on this blustery day and fell 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 to a 21-year-old Frenchwoman named Kristina Mladenovic.

It was the first time in history that both reigning Grand Slam champions lost in the first round of the next major. The last time the No. 2 women's seed lost in the first round was 13 years ago, when Venus Williams was defeated by Barbara Schett.

The frenzied French crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier couldn't have been happier or more supportive as they watched Mladenovic's upset unfold.

How surprising was this? How about massive?

"It's never normal when you beat such a big name, big player," Mladenovic said later. "It's Li Na. So I need some time to realize that and to enjoy that."

Li is ranked No. 2 among WTA players; Mladenovic is No. 103 and had lost five of her previous six first-round matches at Roland Garros. In 13 previous tournaments this year, Mladenovic lost in the first round nine times and the second the other four.

"I gave it away, the match," a shattered-looking Li said afterward. "Today is not about tennis game. It's so many thing[s] are wrong."

And although she wouldn't elaborate on what those specific things were, it sounded eerily like Wawrinka's explanation.

"In my mind, I didn't have any idea how to play the match," Li said. "Maybe I'm not organized. Maybe I'm not prepared for myself to be the focus in this match. Today is not only about technique. I lose the match. Most important thing is in my mind. I should find out why I could not put focus on this match."