sampras revelation for me

zapvor · 12-07-2009, 09:26 AM

This may have been posted before, but I am reading his book now and he talks a little about his stringing preferences. over 70lbs with 17g nat gut!

page 110:
"On clay, I strung 32 to 33kilos. on grass, 32kilos; on some fast hard courts, I went to 34kilos (74.8lbs). Because of the thing string and high tension, the gut sometimes snapped at crazy times....one year i went through more than 700 sets of gut."

jazzyfunkybluesy · 12-07-2009, 09:56 AM

Man good thing he didnt have to pay for that. Might have eaten up alot of his winnings.

borg number one · 12-07-2009, 10:12 AM

That's very tight indeed, sort of like Borg, 81 lbs with natural gut and those tiny Donnay wood frames. I always thought that Sampras strung his racquets some what looser, perhaps in the low 60's, but 70+ is very tight for those racquets. He did have great control and could generate plenty of pace as well.

zapvor · 12-07-2009, 08:36 PM

also he said good things about agassi...heh

pundekman · 12-07-2009, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by borg number one

That's very tight indeed, sort of like Borg, 81 lbs with natural gut and those tiny Donnay wood frames. I always thought that Sampras strung his racquets some what looser, perhaps in the low 60's, but 70+ is very tight for those racquets. He did have great control and could generate plenty of pace as well.

I thought his Donnays had graphite in them?

shaysrebelII · 12-07-2009, 09:08 PM

I'm not too surprised. If you look at some of his "dunk" videos on youtube, his racquet would actually fracture. The frame would pretty much implode and he'd walk over to his bag and get another racquet, smiling all the way.

zapvor · 12-07-2009, 09:12 PM

good point. just interesting to me. i would hate to be nate!

borg number one · 12-08-2009, 04:23 AM

Pundekman, his Donnays were wood, until he went to the Donnay Borg Pro, which were primarily wood, but had SOME graphite inlays, but not much. He only used that frame the last couple of years he played. The Donnays before that were all wood.

They are nothing like the graphite and composite frames that came out in the early 1980's though. It's like night and day for example if you compare that last frame Borg used to the Sampras' Pro Staff.

If you've hit with both frames, as I have, you'll notice that hitting with a Borg Pro, especially strung tight, requires some really good concentration (sweet spot not very big) and you really need to generate all the pace totally on your own.

You simply can't stick your racquet out and expect the ball to fly back over the net like you can with the Pro Staff or of course the modern frames. You have to line up your shots just right and really use a full long swing to generate considerable pace.

Now Borg, with those frames STRUNG AT 80 POUNDS PLUS, not only generated a lot of pace but ALSO unbelievable topspin. I believe the Borg Pro was 72 square inches. What a monster!

See some weblinks about the Donnay Borg Pro frame:

http://tennisworld.typepad.com/the_p...at-racque.html

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/archi...p/t-14065.html

hoodjem · 12-08-2009, 02:10 PM

I had a Donnay Borg Pro circa 1979.

Oddly, it would play like hell, with no sweetspot and no feel, until you'd string it at 75+ pounds. Then it would acquire a sweetspot.

THESEXPISTOL · 12-08-2009, 02:18 PM

700sets seems very few...
He was snapping 4 or 5 racquets per match

Azzurri · 12-10-2009, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zapvor

This may have been posted before, but I am reading his book now and he talks a little about his stringing preferences. over 70lbs with 17g nat gut!

page 110:
"On clay, I strung 32 to 33kilos. on grass, 32kilos; on some fast hard courts, I went to 34kilos (74.8lbs). Because of the thing string and high tension, the gut sometimes snapped at crazy times....one year i went through more than 700 sets of gut."

imagine what he could do with a 90" racquet strung with Lux. Maybe win 16 GS by age 29.

75 #'s is extreme. I am thinking of going 65# on my next gut job, but 75..man that is hiiiiigh.

12-07-2009, 09:26 AM	#1
zapvor Legend Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: tennis courts Posts: 7,904	sampras revelation for me This may have been posted before, but I am reading his book now and he talks a little about his stringing preferences. over 70lbs with 17g nat gut! page 110: "On clay, I strung 32 to 33kilos. on grass, 32kilos; on some fast hard courts, I went to 34kilos (74.8lbs). Because of the thing string and high tension, the gut sometimes snapped at crazy times....one year i went through more than 700 sets of gut." __________________ Member of TW MAC. yes, we are better than you. and we bout to hop on a court to make another 'mil

12-07-2009, 10:12 AM	#3
borg number one Legend Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,043	That's very tight indeed, sort of like Borg, 81 lbs with natural gut and those tiny Donnay wood frames. I always thought that Sampras strung his racquets some what looser, perhaps in the low 60's, but 70+ is very tight for those racquets. He did have great control and could generate plenty of pace as well. __________________ Borg never pointed to himself. He never even seemed to care if anyone read the advertisements. — Tom Callahan

12-07-2009, 08:36 PM	#4
zapvor Legend Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: tennis courts Posts: 7,904	also he said good things about agassi...heh __________________ Member of TW MAC. yes, we are better than you. and we bout to hop on a court to make another 'mil

12-07-2009, 09:12 PM	#7
zapvor Legend Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: tennis courts Posts: 7,904	good point. just interesting to me. i would hate to be nate! __________________ Member of TW MAC. yes, we are better than you. and we bout to hop on a court to make another 'mil

12-08-2009, 04:23 AM	#8
borg number one Legend Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,043	Pundekman, his Donnays were wood, until he went to the Donnay Borg Pro, which were primarily wood, but had SOME graphite inlays, but not much. He only used that frame the last couple of years he played. The Donnays before that were all wood. They are nothing like the graphite and composite frames that came out in the early 1980's though. It's like night and day for example if you compare that last frame Borg used to the Sampras' Pro Staff. If you've hit with both frames, as I have, you'll notice that hitting with a Borg Pro, especially strung tight, requires some really good concentration (sweet spot not very big) and you really need to generate all the pace totally on your own. You simply can't stick your racquet out and expect the ball to fly back over the net like you can with the Pro Staff or of course the modern frames. You have to line up your shots just right and really use a full long swing to generate considerable pace. Now Borg, with those frames STRUNG AT 80 POUNDS PLUS, not only generated a lot of pace but ALSO unbelievable topspin. I believe the Borg Pro was 72 square inches. What a monster! See some weblinks about the Donnay Borg Pro frame: http://tennisworld.typepad.com/the_p...at-racque.html http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/archi...p/t-14065.html __________________ Borg never pointed to himself. He never even seemed to care if anyone read the advertisements. — Tom Callahan Last edited by borg number one : 12-08-2009 at 04:50 AM.

12-08-2009, 02:18 PM	#10
THESEXPISTOL Hall Of Fame Join Date: May 2009 Location: Europe Posts: 2,169	700sets seems very few... He was snapping 4 or 5 racquets per match __________________ 3x Tecnifibre TFight 295 VO2MAX (6g at 3 \| 6g at 9); TW Leather Grip; My custom paintjob thread: bit.ly/17pQqt0