Pros Tinker with their sticks too - read this

[Power Player]

http://blogs.tennis.com/the_pro_shop...-anderson.html

Awesome article on Kevin Anderson picking a racquet and speccing it out.

[RadicalMPfan]

Great find power player.
"You know, the first step is making sure all the racquets are the same, because when they come off the assembly line, they’re always a little bit different"-Kevin Anderson
It's a shame Kevin Anderson still gets his racquets from the assembly line like the average Joe. Maybe if he cracks the top 10 Head will let him into the clandestine custom layup room where Joker hangs out. If you have no sense of humor, please leave my reply alone.

[Povl Carstensen]

Interesting read, thanks!

[Power Player]

I get that you are joking, no worries.

But for the sake of general knowledge, notice how he does say that he has his customized from Head now. Basically he is saying he uses the pro stock racquets if you read between the lines. I had the same TGK mold. Same exact materials, just shipped super light for lead customization and layed up a little differently so they flex in different spots (player preference).

If you buy a retail prestige, you can mod it, but there is less room since it already weighs 12 ozs. The TGKs weigh like 295 grams so you can do about any setup you want to it.

[li0scc0]

yep, Pro Stock Racquets are a lot of fun. Had some Pacific X-Pro Lite sticks and were a ton of fun . Impressive to be able to get them to a 330 Swingweight and 10 points headlight at only 11.5-11.6 ounces!!

[Chace]

Good read. Thanks PP.

[RadicalMPfan]

Imagine if they came forward and made these racquets available to the public. The Blx 6.1 tour is one of the best selling racquets only because Federer uses it. I play on public courts and I'm amazed how many players play with the speed line now because they think Djoker uses it. Wouldn't it benefit them to create his own racquet (like Federer)?

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by Power Player

I get that you are joking, no worries.

But for the sake of general knowledge, notice how he does say that he has his customized from Head now. Basically he is saying he uses the pro stock racquets if you read between the lines. I had the same TGK mold. Same exact materials, just shipped super light for lead customization and layed up a little differently so they flex in different spots (player preference).

If you buy a retail prestige, you can mod it, but there is less room since it already weighs 12 ozs. The TGKs weigh like 295 grams so you can do about any setup you want to it.

Spooky PP, it is like he knows both of us.

"You know, I think some players like the feeling of making sure that they’re doing everything to the best that they can. But I think there’s a point where it starts interfering a bit."

[Power Player]

^^^

LOL. He just burned 80% of this forum .


Well some companies do make sticks specced to pro levels, but they are so hard to use by most people that they do not sell that well.

Perfect example is the Sampras KPS88. Amazing racquet. Very solid, with great feel. Also very very tough to use on a regular basis and did not sell well, even though by most people's standards it is a top tier racquet.

Even Fed's K90 is a demanding stick, and most people buying it because of Fed are hampering their game.

Djokers stick would be out of the realm for most people. Folks like us on here would probably buy one just for fun and honeymoon it, but in the end find it too demanding.

The Pure Drive Roddick is indeed specced rather close to ARod's preferences, but the swing weight is not as high, and the weight is 339 instead of 345. That is the best selling "pro" frame because it is the easiest to use.

I think a frame that would sell like hotcakes would be a Rafa signature areo pro drive. Like the roddick, it is a lighter stick for a pro and many of us could use it. Rafa's flex is a little lower because he flexes his sticks out after a few months. It would be cool if they recreated that.

But anyway, to use what the pros use would be too demanding. You have to be in prime condition and most likely taking a few "supplements" as well.

If you want sticks that pros actually use, the Babolats are the way to go. Jack Sock uses the retail Aero Storm. Tsonga uses an APDC plus with lead, tons of pros use Pure Storms and Roddicks just leaded up, and many use the Pure Storm Tour (pete sampras).

[RadicalMPfan]

That makes sense. Yesterday I lost in a 2 1/2 hour 3 set match with a player who grinds out every point. It was the first match I have lost with my new racquet. I usually can drive through balls and keep the rallies relatively short. I realize if I face more people like him, my fitness level needs some work. I enjoy the easy spin, power, and control of Babolats. I also see why they are very popular with beginners all the way to pros. How do people get used to the hollow feel? I added silicone and it helped a little, but it is still of a little in my book.

[movdqa]

Loved the article. Thanks for posting the link.

Interesting that he's added mass to the throat. I think that the
biggest issue with the YT Prestige is the tiny sweetspot which he
mentioned. I guess that it's even an issue for pro players. It can be
easily fixed with some lead at 3/9 but I think that most pros go with
a polarized setup and skip the 3/9 because they can hit the sweet spot
so well.

> Perfect example is the Sampras KPS88. Amazing racquet. Very solid,
> with great feel. Also very very tough to use on a regular basis and
> did not sell well, even though by most people's standards it is a
> top tier racquet.

A lot of the pros use racquets with even higher, in some cases,
much, much higher, than the KPS88.

> Even Fed's K90 is a demanding stick, and most people buying it because
> of Fed are hampering their game.

Yup, saw those at the club being used by beginners - they had trouble
getting the ball across the net.

[Fuji]

Originally Posted by movdqa

Loved the article. Thanks for posting the link.

Interesting that he's added mass to the throat. I think that the
biggest issue with the YT Prestige is the tiny sweetspot which he
mentioned. I guess that it's even an issue for pro players. It can be
easily fixed with some lead at 3/9 but I think that most pros go with
a polarized setup and skip the 3/9 because they can hit the sweet spot
so well.

> Perfect example is the Sampras KPS88. Amazing racquet. Very solid,
> with great feel. Also very very tough to use on a regular basis and
> did not sell well, even though by most people's standards it is a
> top tier racquet.

A lot of the pros use racquets with even higher, in some cases,
much, much higher, than the KPS88.

> Even Fed's K90 is a demanding stick, and most people buying it because
> of Fed are hampering their game.

Yup, saw those at the club being used by beginners - they had trouble
getting the ball across the net.

I've noticed this SO much lately.

At my club on this previous Saturday night, it was a full house with 6/7 courts full of people. I counted 11 BLX/BLXPS90's. It was absolutely ridiculous. I'm not one to knock people's games by any means, but I've never seen something so odd. A lot of people were in the full "Fed" gear as well with the shirts/shoes/shorts. Absolutely crazy!

One guy came out with full Fed gear, matching bag and 6 BLXPS90's. He got a double bagel by an older guy in just under an hour. Very interesting to see!

-Fuji

[OldFedIsOld]

Originally Posted by Fuji

I've noticed this SO much lately.

At my club on this previous Saturday night, it was a full house with 6/7 courts full of people. I counted 11 BLX/BLXPS90's. It was absolutely ridiculous. I'm not one to knock people's games by any means, but I've never seen something so odd. A lot of people were in the full "Fed" gear as well with the shirts/shoes/shorts. Absolutely crazy!

One guy came out with full Fed gear, matching bag and 6 BLXPS90's. He got a double bagel by an older guy in just under an hour. Very interesting to see!

-Fuji

Thank you Fuji this made my night, I will sleep with a smile on my face.

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

Originally Posted by mikeler

Spooky PP, it is like he knows both of us.

"You know, I think some players like the feeling of making sure that they’re doing everything to the best that they can. But I think there’s a point where it starts interfering a bit."

That's so true, too many people here blame their bad days and shots not going in on equipment "issues".

Put your head down, go out there and play. There's no equipment that'll suddenly and magically put balls into the corners.

[Cheetah]

cool article. thanks.

[Tennishacker]

Did I read the article correctly, has he been playing with the same racquet since 2005?

[movdqa]

He's been playing with the Prestige but it isn't clear as to whether he's moved up with newer iterations or if he's using a paintjob from the one that he started with or a little of both.

[Power Player]

Originally Posted by RadicalMPfan

That makes sense. Yesterday I lost in a 2 1/2 hour 3 set match with a player who grinds out every point. It was the first match I have lost with my new racquet. I usually can drive through balls and keep the rallies relatively short. I realize if I face more people like him, my fitness level needs some work. I enjoy the easy spin, power, and control of Babolats. I also see why they are very popular with beginners all the way to pros. How do people get used to the hollow feel? I added silicone and it helped a little, but it is still of a little in my book.

The newest pure drive roddick feels a lot more solid. I also added 6 inches of lead to 3 and 9 and it feels incredible now at 12.1 ozs. You could try that in a demo. It swings very very easy.

[rdis10093]

nice find, thank you

[rdis10093]

interesting that he stuck with lux for so long.