WORLDTEMPUS - 18 January 2011Miguel Seabra
At first, one would think that a SIHH visitor had a tennis lesson scheduled after a business day at the Palexpo. Then, after a few more racquets seen in the corridors, one would start to wonder if there is a tennis club in the area -- after all, Roger Federer's influence must have turned tennis into a more popular sport in Swtzerland than soccer or ski! But the growing number of racquet users at the SIHH provided a clue: the racquet brand seen around is Babolat, Rafael Nadal's choice... not Federer's faithful Wilson. 
Yes, Nadal's racquet turned out to be one of the most sought-after presents at the SIHH: Richard Mille (who flew in from Melbourne, after a press conference with Rafa prior to the Australian Open) is giving it away, capitalizing on his highly successful partnership with the spanish star. For the record: former world number one Boris Becker (an IWC ambassador) and former US Open and Wimbledon runner-up Cèdric Pioline (a guest at the TAG Heuer theme park in the Halle de Sécheron) did not have their racquets with them...
