Sharapova's Secret Scrawls Keep Everyone Guessing

Maria Sharapova's hand written messages on the camera after wins have kept fans guessing all week at the BNP Paribas Open.

By Erik Gudris

(March 14th, 2013) -- Maria Sharapova finds herself once again in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open. But it's been her rather cryptic personally signed messages on the lens of a television camera that's been getting her more attention than her trademark power game over the last two weeks.

Most players after winning a match will sign their "John Hancock" or "Jane Hancock" to the camera lens after a win. But Sharapova, perhaps feeling the need to be different or to help promote her multiple off court interests, just wrote "Tweet Me" after her opening round win against Francesca Schiavone.

The tactic worked as Sharapova's Twitter account earned 3,000 new followers overnight.

Whether they are inside jokes or just the first thing to pop into her head, Sharapova's mysterious scribblings just keep adding more intrigue to what is usually a straightforward part of the victory process.

Sharapova in subsequent wins has written, "Who Knows?", a phrase she then repeated as a hashtag on Twitter after asking the question, "Does anyone else feel that this hour time change is bogus?", referring to the recent time change in the U.S.

The trend continued with "Feeling Silly" and then last night after her win over Sara Errani when she wrote the words "Just Kidding". It's not clear if she meant that towards the Italian who she dismissed in straight sets or perhaps was feeling a bit punchy after ending that match past midnight due to a delayed start.

Sharapova addressed her secret scrawls in a press conference the other day when she was asked about them.

"They're always so last minute. I got bored with the signatures, and actually I don't even know why we ever do signatures. I mean, it's like the signature is going to someone or, you know, they're going to copy and paste it. So, I don't know. I was just bored of signing my name and started doing something different."

On if she remembers when the whole signing of a camera lens began, Sharapova said, "I think when they got that removable lens is when they really started it. I don't know. It just seems, I mean, so expected, you know. You know me. I don't like to do things that are expected."

If not doing the expected is Sharapova's thing, what can we look forward to if she beats Maria Kirilenko in their semi tomorrow? Perhaps "Hat Trick", which would be a hockey reference for Sharapova earning her third straight win over Kirilenko who is engaged to hockey star Alex Ovechkin. Or perhaps a new flavor name for her Sugarpova line of candy. The possibilities are endless.

Whatever she writes, it's sure to keep us talking as we try to guess what is on Maria's mind as she goes after her first title of 2013.

(Photo Credit: Tennis TV)