BounceHitBounceHit
Legend
As most of you know, I am kind of old school. I mean, I am old (by tennis standards, anyway) at 45. I like vintage Fila tennis clothes, the Wilson PS 6.0series, and still wait to walk on to the court when a point is being played next door. For Heaven's Sake, I even still use gut strings (in a hybrid, but still.............)
Which brings me to my general distaste for 'gimmick' racquets. And my INITIAL hesitation to try out the Prince O3 Hybrid Tour 95 that my good pal Fabrice Leroy sent along this week in a trade. But this morning the spirit moved me......what the heck, thought I. Maybe I should be more open to new ideas? Brain age, and all that kind of good stuff........
The O3 HT looks kinda silly to me. Those crazy 'ports', etc. But the fit and finish are nice, and the two Fabrice sent me are identical in wt, balance and SW (within a few grams).
I teed 'em up this morning w/ a 24 yo ex-DI college player and let 'er rip. MAN WAS I SUPRISED! This is a GREAT feeling frame! I was hitting groundies deep and with LOTS of spin. I half volleyed a number of her deep shots right off the baseline but still got 'em back with excellent clearance, control, and depth. The frame feels VERY stable and 'forgiving'. I never got that "OK, I am going to swing away but God only knows where this ball is about to go" sensation that I experience with just about every other 'gimmick' frame I've tried.
At net, the O3 HT was nimble and rock-solid stable. Very little adjustment from my AK90, if you can believe that! I felt I had great control over the ball and was hitting piercing, heavy volleys right off the bat. This was perhaps the biggest suprise, b/c usually I don't mind this kind of frame off the ground, but I HATE them at net, as they usually feel 'clunky' and ill-controlled. Not this puppy.
Serving came easily, but I don't think I got as many MPH's as with the K90. Targeting was good.
Return of serve was also quite good.
All in all, a pleasant suprise. I won't be making the move, but some of you out there looking to change from an 'old school' players frame to something a wee bit more powerful and forgiving should give this one ride.
CC
Which brings me to my general distaste for 'gimmick' racquets. And my INITIAL hesitation to try out the Prince O3 Hybrid Tour 95 that my good pal Fabrice Leroy sent along this week in a trade. But this morning the spirit moved me......what the heck, thought I. Maybe I should be more open to new ideas? Brain age, and all that kind of good stuff........
The O3 HT looks kinda silly to me. Those crazy 'ports', etc. But the fit and finish are nice, and the two Fabrice sent me are identical in wt, balance and SW (within a few grams).
I teed 'em up this morning w/ a 24 yo ex-DI college player and let 'er rip. MAN WAS I SUPRISED! This is a GREAT feeling frame! I was hitting groundies deep and with LOTS of spin. I half volleyed a number of her deep shots right off the baseline but still got 'em back with excellent clearance, control, and depth. The frame feels VERY stable and 'forgiving'. I never got that "OK, I am going to swing away but God only knows where this ball is about to go" sensation that I experience with just about every other 'gimmick' frame I've tried.
At net, the O3 HT was nimble and rock-solid stable. Very little adjustment from my AK90, if you can believe that! I felt I had great control over the ball and was hitting piercing, heavy volleys right off the bat. This was perhaps the biggest suprise, b/c usually I don't mind this kind of frame off the ground, but I HATE them at net, as they usually feel 'clunky' and ill-controlled. Not this puppy.
Serving came easily, but I don't think I got as many MPH's as with the K90. Targeting was good.
Return of serve was also quite good.
All in all, a pleasant suprise. I won't be making the move, but some of you out there looking to change from an 'old school' players frame to something a wee bit more powerful and forgiving should give this one ride.
CC