James Blake Racket

[csg4005]

Any body know what racket hes playing with in the us open?

[Blaxican10s]

It's a Donnay, assume its a custom mold.

[cluckcluck]

He told me that it's a painted Donnay. The mold is his Dunlop.

[The Meat]

Originally Posted by cluckcluck

He told me that it's a painted Donnay. The mold is his Dunlop.

You've personally spoken to Blake? How is he off court?

[cluckcluck]

Originally Posted by The Meat

You've personally spoken to Blake? How is he off court?

yeah, at the Farmer's Classic this year. He seems pretty nice. He was talkative and said goodbye and was quite polite.

[The Meat]

Originally Posted by cluckcluck

yeah, at the Farmer's Classic this year. He seems pretty nice. He was talkative and said goodbye and was quite polite.

Awesome, he does seem like the down to earth type. Hope I can see one of his matches before he retires.

[harryz]

does this mean that it's the same Major/ Technifibre mold that he's been using all along?

Glad to ready that he's a down to earth, humble guy. Losing parents does that to a person..

[JGads]

Originally Posted by cluckcluck

He told me that it's a painted Donnay. The mold is his Dunlop.

At the Farmers Classic last year - not this summer but last - I watched Blake on the practice court and actually overheard a convo he was having with another player, I think it was Rajeev Ram, about his new frame. He said he'd been looking for another frame for years, but Donnay finally produced a frame that 'felt like my old one.' Said he actually went to some factory in Austria, they had several different frames to try out, and when hit with the one, he knew it was for him and said 'How many do you have?'; they said '13' or something like that and he said, "I want each one," and also placed an order for like 30 more.

So maybe it's a Dunlop mold, but it's not the exact Dunlop he'd been playing with for so long with simply new Donnay paint. At least as of that conversation last year.

[niktub]

Originally Posted by JGads

At the Farmers Classic last year - not this summer but last - I watched Blake on the practice court and actually overheard a convo he was having with another player, I think it was Rajeev Ram, about his new frame. He said he'd been looking for another frame for years, but Donnay finally produced a frame that 'felt like my old one.' Said he actually went to some factory in Austria, they had several different frames to try out, and when hit with the one, he knew it was for him and said 'How many do you have?'; they said '13' or something like that and he said, "I want each one," and also placed an order for like 30 more.

So maybe it's a Dunlop mold, but it's not the exact Dunlop he'd been playing with for so long with simply new Donnay paint. At least as of that conversation last year.

Does that mean that he is using some Head racquets painted by Donnay?
Head replica of the Dunlop mold paintjob by Donnay

Blake felt the time might be right, and agreed to the proposal. On his way from the US to the Stockholm Open, James and his coach started the testing programme in Kennelbach. During his visit, the personable American took advantage of the chance to meet with HEAD technicians, see how the racquets are manufactured and generally get a feel for the company.

From the initial development stage of inputting his personal data into the computer to the drafting of technical specifications for production of his new racquet, Blake asked his questions and was given detailed explanations about the entire process. He was impressed with what he saw and learned. "I never thought what effect even small changes in the structure of the racquet can have," he said.

The player spent four days in Kennelbach taking every opportunity to test various racquet configurations. The first session began with 11 models of different weights, balance points and flexibility. From this group, he selected three prototypes which were revised overnight and ready for more testing the next day. In three other testing sessions Blake played the potential racquets under competitive conditions, which brought further insights..........

"It was inconceivable for me to find a racquet in three days, which corresponds to the way I play and the way I move," said an amazed Blake, who could barely contain his praise of the technical wizards in Austria. "What the HEAD team has managed is really incredible. I have full confidence in them."

[cluckcluck]

Originally Posted by JGads

At the Farmers Classic last year - not this summer but last - I watched Blake on the practice court and actually overheard a convo he was having with another player, I think it was Rajeev Ram, about his new frame. He said he'd been looking for another frame for years, but Donnay finally produced a frame that 'felt like my old one.' Said he actually went to some factory in Austria, they had several different frames to try out, and when hit with the one, he knew it was for him and said 'How many do you have?'; they said '13' or something like that and he said, "I want each one," and also placed an order for like 30 more.

So maybe it's a Dunlop mold, but it's not the exact Dunlop he'd been playing with for so long with simply new Donnay paint. At least as of that conversation last year.

You might be right. I did get to hold one of his Donnay's while at the tournament and it didn't feel like 13.5 ounces. My Donnay is about 12.7 and it felt heavier than Blake's.

[niktub]

His Head replica of the Dunlop mold paintjob by Donnay is probably more headlight than yours
Not a Donnay apparently.
Austria...Nothing is really sure there.

[Miami Tiburon]

Originally Posted by niktub

His Head replica of the Dunlop mold paintjob by Donnay is probably more headlight than yours
Not a Donnay apparently.
Austria...Nothing is really sure there.

Donnay took well over a year of prototype testing to finally make a frame that Blake liked . The frame that Blake is using is the Donnay Pro One 18 x 20 Exactly like the one you can buy . The only difference of course is that it's Custom weighted and balanced for him . The reason it's the same frame is Once Blake decided on this frame Donnay had to MFG a lot frames for him and decided to put them into their line .

[db10s]

Yep, he's a pretty cool guy, talked to him a few times. I think he uses a Dunlop mold.

[niktub]

i thought that he had only 3 racquets left

[PBODY99]

Originally Posted by niktub

i thought that he had only 3 racquets left

Of his old Dunlops,yes that is correct, The Donnay's that they made for him are close enough for him to use, unlike Prince's efforts

[Nostradamus]

I heard a rumor that James is using the new Donnay borg pro one racket.

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Donn...NAY-DP197.html

[Disgruntled Worker]

Yeah. The foam-filled feel of a Donnay is pretty solid. I remember a couple of years ago at the 2010 Australian Open, Blake was using a retail BLX90 and took JMDP to five sets before losing in a tiebreak. If he had a Dunlop mold racquet customized with the materials of a Donnay and leaded up to 13.5 ounces, that would probably be a beast to play with.

[classic tennis]

His old racquet's, now that's a surprise . another company parting with bucks for nothing.

[brinkeguthrie]

my last Donnay was the Borg Pro. Bought one sight unseen except for an ad, string 'er right up, didn't playtest back in those days.

Man it felt like a board. no give at all. didn't last long.

[Lefty78]

^Borg's personal racquets actually had extra reinforcement in order to handle his high string tension, so if you thought the retail version felt boardy....