Priority One, Stringing & Customizing, and The Hall Of Fame

[themitchmann]

Great post Drak!

[RJYU]

Originally Posted by Irvin

That does sound like a weird question. You want to know what finishing knot is used to start the crosses when stringing one piece? That's Ron's main reason for stringing one piece two fewer knots.

That is actually the main reason I prefer 1 piece stringing over 2 piece stringing. Tension loss isn't really an issue if you know what you're doing when tying knots. In my opinion, knots are weak points in string jobs, so the less for me, the better. Also, less knots mean less grommets being mushroomed.

As for my finishing knot, it's just one of the many variations of a double half hitch. I don't know if it has a name, and I don't call it anything. I'm sure someone decades ago used it, since all variations have been used way before any of us started stringing.

[Radicalized]

Most of the problems with knots on here seems to be cinching them up, including the old "tension head" to pull and <break> the string in the process. That's once someone posts a diagram or link to an instructional video.

[rendermann]

Great post Drak ... Very informative and shows that the guys "behind the curtain" are real people that enjoy their craft and aren't looking for an ego boost they just take immense pride in what they do! Kudos to them and you!

[mikeler]

Drak,

I do agree with your comment that natural gut is a waste as a cross versus a multifilament but I think that applies to the regular Joes here on TTW. I do think natural gut is slightly better as a cross and if I had Andy Murray's bank account, then I would certainly choose it over a multi cross.

Thank's for taking the time to post that. It must have taken quite a bit of time and effort to put that together. Good job.

[Irvin]

Originally Posted by RJYU

That is actually the main reason I prefer 1 piece stringing over 2 piece stringing. Tension loss isn't really an issue if you know what you're doing when tying knots. In my opinion, knots are weak points in string jobs, so the less for me, the better. Also, less knots mean less grommets being mushroomed...

I could not agree more, I think one and two piece has advantages and disadvantages. When all else fails follow the manufacturers's recommendation. You also have to look at the customers you're stringing for. If rackets are strung day after day sooner or later the grommets will be mushroomed out and in a two week tournament that does not take long.

If I were playing in a two week major event I would want each racket torn down to bare racket and have the grips and grommets replaced then all rackets matched so each individual racket were perfect and identical to all others to start out. Lead tape comes off all the time I would also want any tape under the grommet system hidden from view so it would not fly off. If I played with an overwrap I would want each racket wrapped the same way every time when strung. I like to start my racket at 10 o'clock with the Logo's top to my right and wrap counterclockwise with the grip at the same angle to the racket the entire length of the handle so the overlap is the same width all the way up. I want the over grip all the way to the very edge of the butt cap and I want the top of the over wrap tapered so no corners protrude out from under the tape. I want the same tension on the grip all the way so the grip is not stretched out too thin or too soft so it feels mushy. I think the grip is more important to me that the stringing job.

It is clear to me may players don't feel like I do. If my racket hit the court and the grip was scuffed up I would want to replace it immediately but they don't. Then again maybe they understand the rules consequences of racket abuse.

[drakulie]

Originally Posted by Radicalized

Great post as usual, Drakulie.
--
Don't hate me for this one, but isn't the sponsor "Western and Southern" rather than the other way around, as in post #2? I never know if someone wants a possible error noted or not! I'll delete this note later.
--
I see Glynn, for example, is using a tabletop model. I'm guessing machines with bases aren't always preferred.

Radicalized, Thanks for pointing that out. I corrected it.

As for Glynn stringing on a table top, it is much easier to travel with the machines without the stand. It keeps the weight down. All of the P1 machines are table tops.

Originally Posted by rendermann

Great post Drak ... Very informative and shows that the guys "behind the curtain" are real people that enjoy their craft and aren't looking for an ego boost they just take immense pride in what they do! Kudos to them and you!

Thanks for the post, and glad to read you understood the point of the article.

And YES, the P1 guys are all extremely humble, and very nice, and obviously take pride in their work, without being arrogant. With all they have accomplished, they remain very approachable.

Originally Posted by mikeler

Drak,

I do agree with your comment that natural gut is a waste as a cross versus a multifilament but I think that applies to the regular Joes here on TTW. I do think natural gut is slightly better as a cross and if I had Andy Murray's bank account, then I would certainly choose it over a multi cross.

Thank's for taking the time to post that. It must have taken quite a bit of time and effort to put that together. Good job.

Agreed about the natural gut.

As for the article, it took me so long to complete it because I kind of got "writers block". I simply couldn't put my thoughts together to tie in all the questions that were asked, into a nice write-up that says much more than simply a Q&A. After meeting with them, and realzing how much history they have been involved with, along with my own personal thoughts on the matter of stringers sort of being treated as "red-headed step childs" in the tennis community, I felt I owed it to stringers and technicians all over the world to do the Q&A in this manner.

Thanks for your post and comments.

[Roger Wawrinka]

Originally Posted by Irvin

That does sound like a weird question. You want to know what finishing knot is used to start the crosses when stringing one piece? That's Ron's main reason for stringing one piece two fewer knots.

Sorry Irvin, That meant to say when he is doing Two-piece string jobs, I'll change it right away. Thanks for spotting it out.

[FloridaAG]

Very nice Rick.

[Bhagi Katbamna]

Great post. These sort of posts are so much better to read than the constant bickering of Nadal/Federer/Djoker fans.

[akamc]

Drak,
Another shout-out for a very nicely written and informative article. Glad to see you nearing the upper echelon . In some ways, this is one of the most substantial sections of the forum.

and Ron,
Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge and experience (to the extent you can!) with us. That's very cool.

[Irvin]

There's a reason a player plays either all gut, all poly, or a hybrid. There are advantages and disadvantages to each. Just like there's a reason some players who hybrid their strings likes one or the other in the mains. It all comes down to power, control / spin, and feel. Depending on what is most important to the player he will like one or the other in the mains.

[Dags]

Trip reports are my favourite threads. Thanks for posting!

Drak, when you're working alongside these guys, is there anything you've observed that sets apart seasoned tour stringers from a 'mere' professional like yourself? I remember reading a thread a few years ago (it may even have been one of yours) where someone strung alongside a very experienced stringer (whose name I can't recall... yep, I'm a little hazy on the details here...), and they said the thing that stood out most to them was economy of movement. The experienced stringer moved as little as possible, making the machine do the work. That sort of thing really interests me, but you can't really pose it as a direct question - if I asked Ron, or one of the other pros that post here, 'what tips do you have for us home stringers?', I doubt I'd get 'try standing still' very high up the list of answers...

[FloridaAG]

Originally Posted by Dags

Trip reports are my favourite threads. Thanks for posting!

Drak, when you're working alongside these guys, is there anything you've observed that sets apart seasoned tour stringers from a 'mere' professional like yourself? I remember reading a thread a few years ago (it may even have been one of yours) where someone strung alongside a very experienced stringer (whose name I can't recall... yep, I'm a little hazy on the details here...), and they said the thing that stood out most to them was economy of movement. The experienced stringer moved as little as possible, making the machine do the work. That sort of thing really interests me, but you can't really pose it as a direct question - if I asked Ron, or one of the other pros that post here, 'what tips do you have for us home stringers?', I doubt I'd get 'try standing still' very high up the list of answers...

Drak said that after stringing in Delray I believe (someone else may have shared a similar thought as well)

[Rabbit]

Drak -

just saw this, great thread. Thanks so much for taking the time and making the effort.

Ron -

have you guys ever considered a stringing camp? Hell, I'd probably buy the beer if y'all would let me string with you for a week!

[Irvin]

Originally Posted by Rabbit

Drak -

just saw this, great thread. Thanks so much for taking the time and making the effort.

Ron -

have you guys ever considered a stringing camp? Hell, I'd probably buy the beer if y'all would let me string with you for a week!

Sounds like you are under the impression this is a beer drinking team with a stringing problem. LOL All kidding aside, standing on your feet 12+ hours a day for a couple of weeks is not something I'd want to do.

[jim e]

Originally Posted by Rabbit

Drak -

just saw this, great thread. Thanks so much for taking the time and making the effort.

Ron -

have you guys ever considered a stringing camp? Hell, I'd probably buy the beer if y'all would let me string with you for a week!

GSS has their annual stringers symposium in Florida this fall. If I had the time, I would consider that, as some of the worlds best are typically there.

[Roger Wawrinka]

Originally Posted by RJYU

That is actually the main reason I prefer 1 piece stringing over 2 piece stringing. Tension loss isn't really an issue if you know what you're doing when tying knots. In my opinion, knots are weak points in string jobs, so the less for me, the better. Also, less knots mean less grommets being mushroomed.

As for my finishing knot, it's just one of the many variations of a double half hitch. I don't know if it has a name, and I don't call it anything. I'm sure someone decades ago used it, since all variations have been used way before any of us started stringing.

Hey Ron, When you are stringing one piece for guys like Tipsarevic and Wawrinka, do you string from bottom to top? I was told that was bad for the racquet because of the stress on the frame (I do not know if that is true) but what do you do? Also, Can you explain how you tie your double half hitch? If you do not want to it's okay, I'm just very curious.

[blackfrido]

Rick, how would you fell if I take any of my old Fischers to your shop?
Man you a re a famous guy now! That's why we haven't played anymore
saludos< Javier

[drakulie]

Originally Posted by Dags

Trip reports are my favourite threads. Thanks for posting!

Drak, when you're working alongside these guys, is there anything you've observed that sets apart seasoned tour stringers from a 'mere' professional like yourself? I remember reading a thread a few years ago (it may even have been one of yours) where someone strung alongside a very experienced stringer (whose name I can't recall... yep, I'm a little hazy on the details here...), and they said the thing that stood out most to them was economy of movement. The experienced stringer moved as little as possible, making the machine do the work. That sort of thing really interests me, but you can't really pose it as a direct question - if I asked Ron, or one of the other pros that post here, 'what tips do you have for us home stringers?', I doubt I'd get 'try standing still' very high up the list of answers...

dags, thanks for the question. One thing I suppose would set apart a seasoned tour stringer from someone like me would be experience stringing at large tournaments such as this one. There are little things that are important that one can't get without being at the actual tournament such as dealing with the actual pro players, coaches, managers, or whomever else comes to the stringing room. You need to keep in mind, I've done plenty of tournament stringing, just not at the level where the entire draw is filled with such "high profile" players. If you ask me, the futures I did by myself this year was much more physically demanding than Cincy. On the other hand, the mental aspect was much more difficult at Cincy, simply because there are hundreds of thousands of dollars riding on your work, ranking points, race points, etc.

As for what sets apart someone who strings at home vs someone who strings at this high level, there are a couple of things that immediately come to mind.

1. Volume of work completed day, after day, after day. One could find themselves stringing up to and over 40 frames in one day.
2. Hours of work completed. Hours are very long, starting early in the morning, and ending at times after midnight.
3. The physical demands of the above. Standing on your feet all day for those amount of hours in the same space is both taxing, and exhausting on the body and mind.
4. Having to stay focused every time you complete a racquet.
5. And yes, economy of movement. I wrote once that this is really where when you simply dissect a stringer to only look at the actual physical performance of putting strings in a racquet, a tour stringer is hands down more fluid, wastes much less energy, and simply more efficient. There are no "wasted movements", which comes in extremely handy when a racquet has to be turned around very quicly and run off to the court, hopefully, before the changeover.

I could go on, but hopefully you get the point.

As for a "tip" I could give, be consistent on every aspect of every string job you complete, never cheat or take shortcuts that would effect the performance of your work. I guarantee I could look at a "home stringers" completed string job, and even if they strung two of the same racquets, using the same pattern, I could find differences in the string job.

One quick example of what I am referring to above. A player I was assigned sent two racquets during the match to be completed. Myself and one of the other guys had to complete the two run-offs. Being that I was the one who had been stringing for this player all week, I was asked (while both of us were stringing the frames) by the other guy how I started the mains, where I tied my cross knot (the string job was two piece), the cross overs, etc in order to ensure the string jobs were identical. Both frames were completed in about 11 minutes and were identical.

One more thing I want to stress on in regards to tournament stringing. You have to have team work. This means helping out the others cut out strings, set up machines, or even pre-stretch the crosses while they are completing the mains. Much more to it than this, but again, I hope you get the point.

Hope all this helps answer your question.

by the way, you may want to take a look at this thread:
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=400181

Originally Posted by Rabbit

Drak -

just saw this, great thread. Thanks so much for taking the time and making the effort.

Ron -

have you guys ever considered a stringing camp? Hell, I'd probably buy the beer if y'all would let me string with you for a week!

You may regret that offer. The beer may end up costing you more than you budget for.

Originally Posted by Roger Wawrinka

Hey Ron, When you are stringing one piece for guys like Tipsarevic and Wawrinka, do you string from bottom to top? I was told that was bad for the racquet because of the stress on the frame (I do not know if that is true) but what do you do? Also, Can you explain how you tie your double half hitch? If you do not want to it's okay, I'm just very curious.

Roger, players, for the most part determine how they want their racquet strung,,,,, be it one or two piece, atw, bottom up, etc. Of course at times, it's up to the stringer if the player doesn't specify, but typically, the stringer wants to build some sort of relationship with the player and will ask.

Originally Posted by blackfrido

Rick, how would you fell if I take any of my old Fischers to your shop?
Man you a re a famous guy now! That's why we haven't played anymore
saludos< Javier

stop by any time. Would be great to see you and catch up. Hope all is well.