So, played a 3 set singles match with the 99S tonight against our Number 2 seed. Not enough to form too many conclusions but combined with my doubles games with it (just club social/mix ins), it was promising and a good racket but I am not specifically blown away by some magical spin capability it has. Taking away any hype or reputation, what it was for me was a nice combination of solidity, stability and controlled power. Despite comments to the contrary, my flat game was fine with it, serve and groundstrokes (certainly compared to the APD 2013) yet the "spin" game was not an order of magnitude different to other rackets of the same class although it was noticeable on some occasions but not "game changing" for me. Could be me of course, i am a flat hitter in general yet liked it. Surprisingly, felt more like a forgiving players racket than tweener class. A key point for me was I was not leaving sitters at the other end for my opponent which happened more often that I liked with the APD or Yonex 100S. Court penetration was good.
I noted in our Facebook group that I may have been hampered by the fact I was over thinking its alleged ability to drop all manner of shots in the baseline that would go out with other rackets. Well, I hit plenty long in the first set going for margins that were too tight. It wasn't until I started hitting my normal strokes that the general good feeling of the racket came through. I am not talking about super SPIN, just a nice overall combination of solidity etc. Hit some lovely flat winners but the spin was likely a contributing factor even if i did not think i was specifically using a pronounced brushing motion as I felt I needed to with the APD 2013.
Nice racket and it is possible I could love it but time will tell. I probably know enough to say I will definitely buy it on UK release but whether it becomes the main singles racket for me is yet to be decided. Definitely a close contender.
ps. racket was strung with Sonic Pro mains and Addiction crosses, newly strung by the shop at mid tension (not my choice of string - my favourite is RPM Blast 17).