Venus Williams dumped out of French Open by Sloane Stephens

Venus Williams has been knocked out of the French Open in the first round after suffering a 7-6(5) 6-1 defeat to fellow American Sloane Stephens this evening.

Williams initially made a bright start and broke her opponent early on to race into a two-game lead, but Stephens hit back with a break of her own and both players held serve to send the set into a tie-break.

It was Stephens who triumphed in the tie-break, as she came from behind to earn a 7-5 victory to take the opening set after an hour of play.

The second set was a far more one-sided affair, with Stephens holding serve and breaking her opponent twice on the way to a resounding 6-1 win that has set up a second-round clash against Britian's Heather Watson.