Why does Haas wear Nike clothes and Asics shoes?

[jokinla]

Nike finally got some exposure for Rafa's line with Haas wearing his black US Open shirt.

[BreakPoint]

Originally Posted by Rozroz

so is TW give false info when saying "this pro's shoe of choice" etc..?

Don't they say that for racquets, too?

"Shoe of choice" is not the same thing as "I wear this exact retail version of this shoe". "Shoe of choice" just means if you asked the pro which shoe would he choose - Shoe A or Shoe B - he'd say - "I would choose Shoe A." It doesn't mean he actually wears that shoe.

[Rozroz]

Originally Posted by BreakPoint

Don't they say that for racquets, too?

"Shoe of choice" is not the same thing as "I wear this exact retail version of this shoe". "Shoe of choice" just means if you asked the pro which shoe would he choose - Shoe A or Shoe B - he'd say - "I would choose Shoe A." It doesn't mean he actually wears that shoe.

so, 'prefered' shoe/racquet etc. is the right word

btw- you're a master bionic poster!
i would change to this name, LOL

[harryz]

Originally Posted by BreakPoint

Not true. Several pros wear paintjobbed shoes, including Federer and Nadal. They wear shoes that only look like the retail versions but really are completely different shoes. So you can pretty much make a shoe to look like just about anything you want.

I live in Portland, Oregon and the other day (October 7th) I met two guys who work at the Nike Campus here. I had seen them play once or twice. One is a shoe designer for the pros, and he had a new pair of the shoes Fed is going to wear at the Masters. No lie. They are the new Vapor, and they're purple with black accents and the toe box is mesh. Very soft and flexible. Fed's shoes are size 11.5 and fairly wide; I wear 11s and tried them on, but they are too large for me. He brought the pair to the courts to give to his buddy, also a Nike employee, as they have a slight imperfection. They are NOT a paintjob or modded shoe in any way.

[harryz]

Back in the day (late 70s), Phil Knight was sued by the founder of Asics for basically stealing his designs AND NAMES for a few early Nike models. Knight came out of U of O in Eugene and Asics was also a running shoe company. From what I've heard, Knight lost the suit... So in other words, the heritage of Nike tennis shoes is tied to Asics anyway...

[BreakPoint]

Originally Posted by harryz

I live in Portland, Oregon and the other day (October 7th) I met two guys who work at the Nike Campus here. I had seen them play once or twice. One is a shoe designer for the pros, and he had a new pair of the shoes Fed is going to wear at the Masters. No lie. They are the new Vapor, and they're purple with black accents and the toe box is mesh. Very soft and flexible. Fed's shoes are size 11.5 and fairly wide; I wear 11s and tried them on, but they are too large for me. He brought the pair to the courts to give to his buddy, also a Nike employee, as they have a slight imperfection. They are NOT a paintjob or modded shoe in any way.

Did you have a retail version of the same shoe to compare side-by-side? Did you try both shoes on and play a set in them side-by-side to determine if they are indeed the same as the retail version? A paintjob is not something you can see with the naked eye because it's made to look just like the retail version. But if you tore the shoe apart and looked at what's on the inside and if you actually play in them for a while, you can probably tell the difference. Federer's shoe is closer to an older version of the Vapor but with the look of the latest retail version.

BTW, how can you be so sure what he had was a shoe that was made specifically for Federer? Just because he said so?

[harryz]

Seems I left out some information. The guy who brought the shoes to the courts is a shoe designer and engineer for Nike who designed this model. The pair I saw were the newest version made for Federer to wear at the Masters. I didn't ask if they were custom; however, it was pretty clear from the way that the two guys talked about the shoes that these are going to be the retail versions and that's what Federer wears. The second guy was wearing the current Vapors, and he mentioned that he has had other shoes that were earmarked for Fed since they wear the same size. Apparently, he gets to "play test" samples. The only reason that the designer was giving him the pair was that they had a slight imperfection. It was clear that they both know Fed and other pros and are involved with Nike tennis (as is a third guy I know who is now with the pro apparel division). The designer talked about a new material for the toe guard , which he showed us, and how they had designed the shoe to be softer and flexier. It wasn't a long conversation; however, based upon what I heard I believe that these very shoes are the same ones that you and I will be able to buy.

[harryz]

The designer's name is Mike Huey, and the other fellow is named Dustin (didn't get his last name). Naturally, both were decked out in all Nike current gear. I'm sure that they shoes are not a paint job because Dustin was wearing a play test pair of current Vapors and they are not the same as what Mike brought by a stretch. A paint job would not account for differences in weight (I held both) or feel (Dustin tried on the new ones after wearing the current ones to the courts). Perhaps I'm naive, but I believe that the shoes I saw have been designed for Fed to start wearing soon, so that he can adjust to them before the Masters. That's what Mike shared. By the way, what information do you have that indicates that Fed and Nadal don't use retail versions of shoes (or clothes for that matter)? I don't have a horse in the proverbial race-- just sharing what I learned, which is no different than what a bystander talking to a stringer at a pro tournament might have overheard, learned and shared.

[BreakPoint]

Originally Posted by harryz

The designer's name is Mike Huey, and the other fellow is named Dustin (didn't get his last name). Naturally, both were decked out in all Nike current gear. I'm sure that they shoes are not a paint job because Dustin was wearing a play test pair of current Vapors and they are not the same as what Mike brought by a stretch. A paint job would not account for differences in weight (I held both) or feel (Dustin tried on the new ones after wearing the current ones to the courts). Perhaps I'm naive, but I believe that the shoes I saw have been designed for Fed to start wearing soon, so that he can adjust to them before the Masters. That's what Mike shared. By the way, what information do you have that indicates that Fed and Nadal don't use retail versions of shoes (or clothes for that matter)? I don't have a horse in the proverbial race-- just sharing what I learned, which is no different than what a bystander talking to a stringer at a pro tournament might have overheard, learned and shared.

But since the new retail version is not even out yet, how can you compare what you saw with the new yet to be released retail version? Of course the new version is not going to be the same as the current version since they change the look of the uppers.

This topic of paintjobbed shoes has been discussed here many times before. I'm sure you can find the threads if you do a search. Even Chris from TW Staff admitted that Federer wears custom made shoes and not the retail versions. There are also pics of Federer wearing shoes that had the uppers of a newer version of the Vapors but had the soles of the older Vapor 2's. Nadal's shoes are also completely custom with special orthotics built in due to his congenital foot problem. You can find that info if you do a search here also.

[harryz]

As I said, I don't have a horse in the race and I don't need to be right. I also don't care enough to research this.

What you say makes sense, BP. What I know is that the shoes I saw would have been sent to Federer to wear at the Masters, if not for an imperfection, and that it sounded like these are going to be the next version of the shoe. No more, no less. That being said, I don't know for certain if what I saw are the same shoes that you and I will be able to buy, as I didn't ask. Your logic is sound on that point.

Harry

[WhereIsMacMac]

Originally Posted by BreakPoint

Maybe you just didn't know because the great paintjob fooled you?

Most people, other than on this board, don't even know many pros use paintjobbed racquets. Hard to tell on TV or even in person.

so like racquets, we also have pro stock shoes?

[Rusty669]

Originally Posted by WhereIsMacMac

so like racquets, we also have pro stock shoes?

There is pro stock everything for the absolute top,top pros. I think probably only Fed, Nadal, Sharapova and Serena Williams get custom everything from nike.
Fabfed has shown us that Federer wears custom shoes, shorts and shirts, heck even the wristbands he uses are made from different material than what we mortals can buy in the store. I would even go so far that the socks he wears are different to retail. To be honest, I can understand it. If I were a top pro, I'd ask nike to make me slightly lighter shoes than retail, better fitting shorts and shirts, and better wristbands for sweat.
This is hardly anything new, I mean the Manchester United players don't wear the same retail shirts you can buy in the store, but rathermore a lighter, more comfortable one.
David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi all wear custom shoes, and so they should. It is much more important to them than it is to us.

[dje31]

I'd be willing to bet that Sampras's Oscillates were PJs. To my eye, they almost never looked like the retail version...similar, esp. from afar, but up close, it was noticeably different.

Pretty sure he wore a Wilson shoe before signing with Nike...or was it Tacchini?

[sportsfan1]

Originally Posted by RF_fan

He did start wearing a black Nike shirt, then changed into a blue shirt and then changed again into a black/white Asics shirt. It makes no sense.

Yeah, I saw that. So from this thread I understand that it's not so much he can't get a contract; it's just that he chooses not to coordinate brands thereby making it cool for rec players to wear mismatched brands ?

And it's for unclear reasons that he starts the match in all Nike gear (shirt, cap, wrist bands etc), but then switched to an Asic's shirt - is it like a superstition?

[grover]

wants to know. Better yet I will have her ask him. She is on his facebook page everyday.

[hcb0804]

Originally Posted by dje31

I'd be willing to bet that Sampras's Oscillates were PJs. To my eye, they almost never looked like the retail version...similar, esp. from afar, but up close, it was noticeably different.

Pretty sure he wore a Wilson shoe before signing with Nike...or was it Tacchini?

Sampras oscillation was customs, they had mesh inserts, retails never had mesh. He actually wore some paint jobbed Wilson Pro Staffs with a Nike swoosh painted on for a while....

[T21D]

Originally Posted by WhereIsMacMac

so like racquets, we also have pro stock shoes?

In the sneaker forums, they are called PE's aka player exclusives. I collect mostly Nadal's since he wears a size 10 and ironically, so do I. His and Federer's are truly one off's. However, I have a pair of Sharipova's and Carlos Moya's and they seem to have to either have their names and or colors different from the general releases.

[PrimeChoice]

I thought Thommy Haas retired.

[MindoverMatter]

He's ranked 21

[brinkeguthrie]

Originally Posted by hcb0804

Sampras oscillation was customs, they had mesh inserts, retails never had mesh. He actually wore some paint jobbed Wilson Pro Staffs with a Nike swoosh painted on for a while....

Absolutely right. He wore Pro Staffs made to look like STs when he was with ST.

The first gen Oscillate, ah whatta shoe.