Venus Williams tamed a plucky teenaged fan who once emailed her for playing tips while fellow American Andy Roddick found himself off target as he bowed out in the first round of the French Open on Sunday.

For Williams, who returned to the tennis tour in March after being diagnosed with a fatigue-inducing blood disorder, her tortuous 4-6 6-1 6-3 win over 120th-ranked Argentine Paula Ormaechea on a sparsely-populated showcourt was a far cry from her heyday.

The winner of seven grand slams, including five Wimbledon titles, struggled to hold her own serve as Ormaechea, 19, refused to go quietly.

Williams found some of her old strength of mind to break the Argentine to love in the ninth game of the deciding set and take the victory, but her next task could be a hard one - she could face third-seeded Pole Agnieska Radwanska who plays lowly Serbian Bojana Jovanovski on Monday.

"She played beautifully," Williams said of Ormaechea, who grew up idolising the Williams sisters. "I was mostly hoping that my experience would help me out."

Venus Williams of the US shakes hands with Paula Ormaechea of Argentina after winning her match during the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris May 27, 2012.[Photo/Agencies]

Former US Open champion Roddick, who has never been at home on the red clay of Roland Garros, watched 13 aces whistle past him as he was beaten 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-2 by Frenchman Nicolas Mahut.

The 29-year-old Roddick missed two months of the tour before last week's World Team Championship in Duesseldorf because of a hip injury but refused to use that as an excuse.

"I lost a match to a guy who played better than I did," he told a news conference.

Mahut followed hot on the heels of fifth-seeded compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in reaching the second round, giving the French fans some cheer after wildcard Jonathan Dasnieres de Veigy had lost a brave battle against 2003 champion Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain earlier in the day.

Andy Roddick of the US returns the ball to Nicolas Mahut of France during the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris May 27, 2012.[Photo/Agencies]