The difference between these two racquets is similar to the difference between a Porsche and a Cadillac. The 90 is the sports car...you better hit everything in fifth gear and go for it! While the 95 is a little more plush...its like sitting in a Cadillac. Anyway, for whatever its worth here are my thoughts:
Serves & overheads :
a) Flat ball/cannonball first serves:
edge goes to the 90. I have never hit so many aces in my life. I was really able to deliver some bombs with this thing. It was truly spectacular and it got me out of some very tight situations where I really needed an ace. Roddick should switch!! The 95 had great flat sevres as well but since I have a powerful first serve I really did not need the extra power the 95 provides. I actually had more controllable power with the 90. I have never hit serves like this in my life. Don't get me wrong...you can still hit huge serves with the 95...but the 90 is just a little better.
b) All types of spin serves ...(2nd serves,topspin,slice,kick):
Edge goes to the 95. What can I say....It kicks really high and slices really low. Second serves were a breeze, while the 90 was very difficult to hit consistent second serves with. The beam on the 90 is so thin that you are forced to really smack the ball on the second serve...which of course causes more errors. It was weird...one game I had three double faults and three aces....the 90 is an all or nothing racquet. You simply cannot hold back and that is a difficult thing to do under pressure.
c) Overheads:
Edge goes to the 90 but only slightly. Since there is less power on the 90 you have less of a chance to over hit the ball.
Groundstrokes:
Edge goes to the 95 My topspin forehand was unbelievable. The power was huge while being still very controllable. My backhand were great too ...but I like to guage groundstrokes by my forehand as its a much bigger stroke. The 95 had solid groundstrokes from both sides. On the other hand I found it difficult to consisetently generate enough power to hit the ball deep for the 90...especially on the run and strectching for a shot.
Volleys
a) Touch Volleys & drop shots:
Edge to the 90. The 90 had amazing feel and such low power that the touch shots and droppers were a breeze. The 95 on the otherhand was also great but it had a little too much power causing one to float the ball a little to high at times.
b) power volleys and angled put aways:
Edge= the 95. The 95 has the right mix of power and control...the 90 really fails here...the power is just not there...especially when stretching out to a volley.
c) Half volleys:
Tied ...the 90's low power ensures that when you make this shot it will come over the net very low and short...virtually unreturnable; however the larger head of the 95 gives you more consistency to make this shot.
Return of serve:
Edge 95 The gap here is huge. The 95 with its larger head simply gives you a larger sweet spot. It was better for returning a big first serve or putting away a "meatball" slow second serve.
I am a 5.0 serve and volleyer. I should add that I think these racquets only play well with gut. I had both racquets strung with vs gut at 61 pounds. I use a continental for serves however if I am up 40 love and I want to serve a canonon ball down the " T " I will switch to an eastern and smack the crap out of the ball. For volleys I use a continental. For groundstrokes I use an eastern grip...except on slices where I switch to the continental. I use a one handed backhand for slices and a two handed backhand for topspin and power shots (with the 95 I actually could hit a one handed bh topspin shot!). At the net I normally use a onehanded backhand for volleys except for easy put aways I switch to the more stable two hander to smack the ball off the court. I used no dampeneres (neither racquet needs it with gut) and no lead tape.
I never thought anything could beat the 90 but I think the 95 is the racquet for me. Even though my nic is "intense2b" The 90 is just to intense for me.
Serves & overheads :
a) Flat ball/cannonball first serves:
edge goes to the 90. I have never hit so many aces in my life. I was really able to deliver some bombs with this thing. It was truly spectacular and it got me out of some very tight situations where I really needed an ace. Roddick should switch!! The 95 had great flat sevres as well but since I have a powerful first serve I really did not need the extra power the 95 provides. I actually had more controllable power with the 90. I have never hit serves like this in my life. Don't get me wrong...you can still hit huge serves with the 95...but the 90 is just a little better.
b) All types of spin serves ...(2nd serves,topspin,slice,kick):
Edge goes to the 95. What can I say....It kicks really high and slices really low. Second serves were a breeze, while the 90 was very difficult to hit consistent second serves with. The beam on the 90 is so thin that you are forced to really smack the ball on the second serve...which of course causes more errors. It was weird...one game I had three double faults and three aces....the 90 is an all or nothing racquet. You simply cannot hold back and that is a difficult thing to do under pressure.
c) Overheads:
Edge goes to the 90 but only slightly. Since there is less power on the 90 you have less of a chance to over hit the ball.
Groundstrokes:
Edge goes to the 95 My topspin forehand was unbelievable. The power was huge while being still very controllable. My backhand were great too ...but I like to guage groundstrokes by my forehand as its a much bigger stroke. The 95 had solid groundstrokes from both sides. On the other hand I found it difficult to consisetently generate enough power to hit the ball deep for the 90...especially on the run and strectching for a shot.
Volleys
a) Touch Volleys & drop shots:
Edge to the 90. The 90 had amazing feel and such low power that the touch shots and droppers were a breeze. The 95 on the otherhand was also great but it had a little too much power causing one to float the ball a little to high at times.
b) power volleys and angled put aways:
Edge= the 95. The 95 has the right mix of power and control...the 90 really fails here...the power is just not there...especially when stretching out to a volley.
c) Half volleys:
Tied ...the 90's low power ensures that when you make this shot it will come over the net very low and short...virtually unreturnable; however the larger head of the 95 gives you more consistency to make this shot.
Return of serve:
Edge 95 The gap here is huge. The 95 with its larger head simply gives you a larger sweet spot. It was better for returning a big first serve or putting away a "meatball" slow second serve.
I am a 5.0 serve and volleyer. I should add that I think these racquets only play well with gut. I had both racquets strung with vs gut at 61 pounds. I use a continental for serves however if I am up 40 love and I want to serve a canonon ball down the " T " I will switch to an eastern and smack the crap out of the ball. For volleys I use a continental. For groundstrokes I use an eastern grip...except on slices where I switch to the continental. I use a one handed backhand for slices and a two handed backhand for topspin and power shots (with the 95 I actually could hit a one handed bh topspin shot!). At the net I normally use a onehanded backhand for volleys except for easy put aways I switch to the more stable two hander to smack the ball off the court. I used no dampeneres (neither racquet needs it with gut) and no lead tape.
I never thought anything could beat the 90 but I think the 95 is the racquet for me. Even though my nic is "intense2b" The 90 is just to intense for me.
