SF Tennis Freak

Posts Tagged ‘Head’

To Graphene or not to Graphene?

That’s the question I’m left with after demo’ing the new HEAD Graphene Speed Pro, the updated version of my current racquet the HEAD YouTek Speed MP 315. Actually, “souped up” is a more accurate description to describe the difference between the two. But rather than writing more, I’ll let you enjoy the video I shot immediately after using it.

(Click here for a discussion on the racquet specs in Part 2.)

(This is raw unedited footage video shot on the fly with my Galaxy S3.)

Advantages:
Longer lasting
Cool black color
Good for flat ball strikers

Disadvantages:
Loss of feel and spin,
Slickness reduces “bite”
Not good for topspin strikers

A few weeks back, I took my racquets in to my regular stringer with both sticks badly in need of new strings. One racquet had broken strings.  The other had strings that were so heavily frayed that they were ready to break if the wind blew too hard. With a scheduled practice the next day, I needed to get at least one of them strung.

I usually get my racquets strung with Wilson NXT 17g. But Marla, my stringer, said that she had a surprise for me on the string shelf. At first I thought she meant a price reduction (just kidding). Then I noticed the surprise:  a new “black” version of the NXT 17g strings! She said they were supposed to play the same as the original “natural” string and last longer.  The pitch sounded good, so I had her put them into both racquets.

Before I share my thoughts on the new Wilson NXT 17g “black” string, let me give you my thoughts on the original “natural” version.  I love these strings!  They give me excellent “feel” and ball control.  They give me the ability to place my serve wherever I want in the service box.  They grip the ball perfectly on my groundstrokes, and allow me to use my topspin to full advantage on both my forehand and backhand.  And volleys, which can sometimes be my nemesis, feel controlled and comfortable.

Did I mention that I love these strings?!?!

The only downside is that they don’t last as long as I would like due to their softness and texture.  This is especially true when strung at higher tensions (60+) AND if you hit with a lot of topspin like I do.  Hitting about twice a week, I can pop a set of strings in about 4 weeks if my racquet is strung at 60lbs (the range for my racquet is 57 +/- 5 lbs). That decreases to 3 weeks if strung at 62, and even less if I “shank” a shot.

Personally, I don’t mind the shorter lifespan of these strings because of the added confidence they give me in terms of topspin and ball control.  I play my best tennis when I can swing freely, and these strings allow me to do just that.  It’s more than a fair trade-off!  I wish I could say the same thing about the new “black” version, but I can’t.

The black color is due to a coating that allows the strings to last longer than the uncoated “natural” version. That’s a good thing when the cost of strings and labor per racquet strung can set you back 35 bucks a pop.  At least it sounded like a good thing until I gave them a try and realized they were the completely wrong string type for my game.

The black strings are significantly stiffer than the natural version.  Any “feel” that I had previously perceived was non-existent. The coating also adds a slickness to the strings, causing them to not grab the ball as needed for topspin shots.  This makes the task of “lifting” an opponent’s low balls much more difficult.  This lack of lift on my forehand caused shots to either end up at the bottom of the net, or fly well beyond the baseline.

Here is an assessment of the NXT 17g “black” strings from a week’s worth of hitting:

• Serve: I lost significant “feel” and spin on my serve, taking away the confidence I’d previously had to place my serve in the service box as needed in order to be competitive at 4.0. This is a significant because my serve is the cornerstone of my game.
• Forehand: I lost my control and ability to hit the strong topspin shots I love, either crosscourt or inside-out, that allow me to attack. The lack of topspin control causes the ball to sail long or dump into the net if mishit.
• Backhand: This shot fared the worst with the loss of “feel”.  An improperly struck shot (on a stroke that is already not one of my strongest), is pretty much “dead in the water” leaving me completely vulnerable to attack.
• Overall, the loss of confidence in my ability to attack my shots was reason enough to end the trial period on these strings.  Confidence is everything in tennis, and I had none with these strings.

I would have a hard time recommending these strings to anyone who hits with heavy topspin, or who likes a soft string with “feel”.   However, I can see these being an ideal string for the player who likes to hit a flatter ball with moderate pace, and prefers a sturdy yet thinner gauge string. And the black color does look pretty cool!

As for me, I’m going to see if I can modify the strings to help soften them up and lessen the slickness.  It’s either that or cut them out and pay another 70 bucks for a second re-stringing in as many weeks.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

It took a lot longer than expected to get my new racquets. But after finally getting them out on the courts for a hit, they seem to have been well worth the wait!

This weekend was spent breaking in both sticks on successive days: Saturday at Buena Vista Park tennis courts then Sunday at USF Tennis Courts.

The injured hamstring is healed, and the body felt fit. So off I went to hit. Saturday at Buena Vista park, the first day, was okay but a little rough. I was hoping for a great first experience with “my” racquets, not demo racquets with bad stringing and a grip size that was way too small for my mega-hands. It was just okay though. After 3 weeks away from the courts, it was hard to gauge the merits of my new racquets while also struggling with sloppy technique and bad footwork.

Today (Sunday) was much better on all fronts. Footwork was better, stroke production was better, focus was better. That allowed me to focus on adjusting to the racquets. They are great, but they are dramatically different than my Volkl’s. I gotta stay calm and keep the swing relaxed with my head down on the ball and NOT looking at my target. When I do that it feels sweet. If I don’t, it doesn’t feel god awful… and that is a good thing! 😉 THAT is why I switched racquets. Now it’s just going to take some time to make sure I get the “sweet” feeling more often than not.

Spoke to a friend who is captaining a team, so now I’m getting ready for 7.5 Combo season this fall — with my new sticks. I think it’s gonna be a good one.

That is certainly a mouthful, right!

I went into this demo process knowing that I wanted to make a decision quickly in order to get the new racquet and start going through the funky transition process.  Already feeling pretty good about the Head racquet I had demoed the previous weekend,  I knew I had a good starting point for any new demo variations.  I went back to SFTC to pick up the Head again for more testing, and also to give the Wilson K Blade 98 a try.

I had reservations about the K Blade.  If you read my last “demo” post you might remember that Wilson racquets and I don’t tend to play nicely together.  And of all the pros I would ever think my game could favorably compare for racquet use, Roger Federer is definitely the low man on that mini totem pole.  But there I was, on Saturday, hitting with the K Blade 98.

The  racquet felt really good in my hand.  The head seemed a little small, but overall the feeling was a good one.  After some “shortball” warmup, we moved to the baseline and started hitting.  The first shots came to my backhand.  WHOA!  Hitting backhands hadn’t felt so nice and sweet in quite some time.  These were some of most solid backhands I have ever hit.  The sound off the racquet, the pace and depth.  It was very nice.  Then I tried to hit forehands… and the budding love affair quickly vanished.

I hit my forehand with a fair amount of topspin.  I need a racquet that allows for that kind of sweep up the ball without also needing pinpoint accuracy in order to hit the sweet spot.  THIS is not that racquet.  The sweet spot is just about the size of a tennis ball (or at least it feels that way).  If I hit the ball squarely it was okay.  If I hit the ball slightly off, it was a shank of epic proportions with shock down my arm to match.  Back to the racquet bag.

I picked up the Head and was immediately back in love, but with a slightly different twist.  The Speed MP 315 I demoed the previous weekend was a 16×19 string pattern.  This time, Lynnette at the SFTC pro shop gave me the 18×20 so I could see the difference, however slight, between the two.  It was pretty much perfect.  The 16×19 string pattern was good but this one felt ‘just right’.

Serves, forehands, backhands… all good.  It’s still a pretty big adjustment from my current heavier and more head-heavy Volkl racquet, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  This racquet requires technically sound and relaxed strokes.  As soon as you attempt to “hit harder” or go for the kill shot, it’s easy to over-swing and either shank the ball or meet the strike-zone ridiculously early (sending the ball straight to the bottom of the net).  With only a good relaxed stroke, all the rest falls into place.

Sold.
I never imagined having something in common with Novak Djokovic’s tennis game, but I guess I do.  The millions of dollars and grand slam titles would be nice, but I’ll settle for a good racquet instead!  Now to order them, get them strung, and start getting ready for the 2012 USTA season. 🙂

I typically suffer in silence when going through the process of demo’ing racquets (wherein as you are trying to find your next racquet your game slowly starts to deteriorate because of all the changes until you can’t even hit a decent shot with your old racquet). But one of my hitting buddies persuaded me to share my experiences here on my blog so that it might help someone else who is also suffering through this process (thanks Patrick). 😉

I’ve used a Volkl Tour 10 V-Engine since it first came out several years ago. Back then I needed a racquet that would force me improve my stroke production and technique. It was perfect. Well-balanced and good power/control with proper stroke production. It was the racquet for becoming the better player I wanted to be. But as I have gotten older (almost 48) with shoulder/knee surgeries in the past 4 years (both on my dominant hitting side) plus other various injuries, I need a racquet that suits my current game and body. I find myself struggling with both power and control as soon as I lose even a single pound of tension in the strings. After a rough USTA season I decided to suck it up and start the process of finding my new “The One”.

First up was the Wilson Blade 98 BLX. It’s the racquet seen in the commercials with Federer, Venus, and Serena. They push a couch onto court to help counsel a struggling player, telling them this racquet will help them get more feel. It’s great advertising! I especially like the Roger commercial. Who doesn’t like a commercial with two cute guys, right? Anyway… it was a no-go for me and my game. The racquet gives a solid feel on groundstrokes, but is much more head-heavy than my current Volkl. So I felt a distinct lack of control on all shots when I was pressured, especially coming in for short balls. Serving was difficult as well. Too much vibration, and no control on serve placement. If the serve landed in it was usually a good one with lots of weight behind it, but I couldn’t tell you how I did it. Not the feeling you want in a racquet. NEXT!!!

Next demo test racquet was the Wilson BLX Pro Tour. I was told it is the racquet used by Juan Martin del Potro. A quick trip to Wikipedia showed that he switched to The Wilson K Factor 6.2 after coming back from his wrist injury. I won’t give any commentary on the reasons why he may have switched from this racquet, but after hitting with it for 5 minutes I hated it on all fronts. Bad for my backhand, forehand AND serve. NEXT!!!

I’ve never owned a Babolat racquet, but after hitting with a friend’s last week I decided to demo one. I picked up the Babolat GT Pure Storm, and I hated it. Racquet felt pretty lackluster on the backhand, and every forehand hit the back fence behind my hitting partner. I didn’t even bother attempting other strokes. NEXT!!!

After round 1 of demos, I went back to the pro shop to get some more demos based on my feedback from the first batch.

I came out with two Volkls and a Head. The Volkls were updated versions of the racquet I have been using. They were the PB9 and PB10 racquets. I had high hopes for these. The pro at the shop mentioned that most people who play Volkl don’t really find satisfaction with other brands. So I thought these two sticks would follow in the same tradition and work perfectly on first contact. Result: not so much. The PB10 felt heavy from the first ball strike…much more than my current racquet. And stiff.

My hitting partner could only focus on how bad the vibrations felt from this racquet more than any other aspect. Also, if my goal was to find a maneuverable and forgiving racquet, this was not going to cut it. Didn’t even wait to try serves before switching to the PB9. It was better than the PB10, but still didn’t feel right. Forehands were tough to control, backhands had no feel. The weight didn’t feel good in my hand. It went back into the bag. NEXT!!!

Having suffered a major Volkl letdown (my last 3 racquets have been Volkls), I tried the last of the demos: the Head Youtek IG Speed MP 315. Novak Djokovic uses Head racquets. I wouldn’t pretend to think that my game is anywhere near comparable to his game. And I have never owned a Head racquet. So my expectations were pretty low for this racquet.

However, on first strike it felt surprisingly good. Really good. I have a long but quick stroke (too quick at times). This racquet allows for that kind of wind-up and still keeps the ball on the court. It feels good off both sides, and gave me good feel and depth on both wings. Serves were a dream. I felt like I could maneuver the ball all over the box with a ton of added slice. Volleys felt solid with good control, short balls felt good too. It didn’t take long to make up my mind on this Head racquet… I pretty much had what I was looking for.

Of course rallying is a very different experience from set or match play. The weight difference between my current Volkl and the Head is significant. The light weight caused some problems. Playing a set was a challenge in slowing down a swing speed that’s been programmed over 7 years. When the adrenaline starts pumping during match play, it’s easy to swing too fast putting the contact point way far in front of you (which sends the ball straight to the bottom of the net). That’s okay though. I should be able to adapt with time, right? 😉 Bottom line: I’m still stoked by the potential of this stick!

I will demo a few more models and report on those within the week. But the Head Youtek IG Speed MP 315 is definitely the frontrunner!
(SPECIAL THANKS to Lynnette and Keri at the San Francisco Tennis Club pro shop for their help in finding a racquet that suits my game.)