Kuznetsova, Azarenka Sent Home With Bagels in Fourth Round

I'm willing to bet that both the top seed and defending champion of a major tournament like Miami have gone home on the same day before, but I'm also willing to bet that never before have both exited with a 6-0 set.

That's just what happened today to #1 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and #4 seed and defending champion Victoria Azarenka in the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open on Monday. 

Kuznetsova was struggling with a shoulder problem in her 6-3, 6-0 loss to #13 seed Marion Bartoli, but even without the ailment her early exit is not much of a surprise.  Kuznetsova is prone to going down with a whimper more often than perhaps any other player who has spent significant time in the upper echelons of the game.  Her game, especially on faster surfaces, is so ridiculously offensively slanted that all any player has to do is get the first couple balls back to have a good shot at beating her on one of her off days.

Azarenka's exit is also nothing we haven't seen before, those her 6-4, 6-0 ousting came at the far more capable hands of #14 seed Kim Clijsters.  Frustrated after losing the first set, Azarenka disappeared completely in the second set.  Balls were sprayed, f-bombs were dropped, and the defending champion made quick work of herself.

The parity in the women's game, especially in a major tournament which Serena Williams is missing, makes for some entertainingly unpredictable stuff.  #3 seed Venus Williams is considered the favorite by many to win this title, but she hasn't won an outdoor hard court tournament in the United States since New Haven way back in 2002. 

Even though the month is coming to an end, it's a good bet that this sort of madness in the WTA will extend far beyond March.