Why did Sampras play with Wilson Pro Staff till the end ?

[nothingfails]

It's weird considering there had been so much improvement in racquet material in the late 1990's.

[aceroberts13]

Because it worked, he was comfortable with it, there wasn't as much racquet tech advancement as you think. A LOT of pros do this, Pete just happened to keep the OG paintjob for a longer time than most do.

[canadave]

Originally Posted by nothingfails

It's weird considering there had been so much improvement in racquet material in the late 1990's.

What racquet material improvement was there in the late 1990's?

[FedererForehand]

Originally Posted by aceroberts13

Because it worked, he was comfortable with it, there wasn't as much racquet tech advancement as you think. A LOT of pros do this, Pete just happened to keep the OG paintjob for a longer time than most do.

Pete was just the only one to not go along with paint jobs. Guys like Agassi played for more than a decade with the same frame too- just with different Paint jobs- Radical Trysis 260, Twin Tube Radical, Ti. Radical, etc.

[Azzurri]

Originally Posted by nothingfails

It's weird considering there had been so much improvement in racquet material in the late 1990's.

he won the USO in his last match...using the PS 85. what don't you get?

[tennisdad65]

Why did Sampras play with Wilson Pro Staff till the end ?

Because it would not be fair to the other players if he used a 'modern' racquet

[wangs78]

Pete was old school. He wore the same type of sneaker (Nike Air Oscillate) for pretty much his entire career. This is not a guy who likes change. He might even still be learning how to use the Internet, check e-mail, etc.

[TsongaEatingAPineappleLol]

Originally Posted by nothingfails

It's weird considering there had been so much improvement in racquet material in the late 1990's.

You don't think pros nowadays use earlier racquets? He's used to it and comfortable with it, so he just stuck with it.

[Solat]

coz its a sweet sweet racquet?

[certifiedjatt]

Originally Posted by nothingfails

It's weird considering there had been so much improvement in racquet material in the late 1990's.

no there wasn't!
marketing may have improved, but definitely not technology!

[Mdubb23]

Originally Posted by certifiedjatt

no there wasn't!
marketing may have improved, but definitely not technology!

Amen.

10 char.

[The_Question]

When you're talking about technology, are you referring to the "gimmicks"? Such as Prince's O-ports? HEAD's Microgel, Flexpoint, Crossbow, etc? Dunlop's Aerogel? Babolat's Cortex???

[THESEXPISTOL]

Originally Posted by The_Question

When you're talking about technology, are you referring to the "gimmicks"? Such as Prince's O-ports? HEAD's Microgel, Flexpoint, Crossbow, etc? Dunlop's Aerogel? Babolat's Cortex???

Yes.. That ''technology''.

[Gorecki]

something fails and that i would challenge anyone to prove me wrong!

[Kirko]

Originally Posted by The_Question

When you're talking about technology, are you referring to the "gimmicks"? Such as Prince's O-ports? HEAD's Microgel, Flexpoint, Crossbow, etc? Dunlop's Aerogel? Babolat's Cortex???

pros don't look at equipment like most rec. players if their game goes "south" they look into themselves on how to improve or get back to where they were, not new rackets. a good example that few others follow.

[FedererForehand]

Originally Posted by The_Question

When you're talking about technology, are you referring to the "gimmicks"? Such as Prince's O-ports? HEAD's Microgel, Flexpoint, Crossbow, etc? Dunlop's Aerogel? Babolat's Cortex???

Like it or not - things like Babolat's Cortex is an innovation. I've used Pure Drives with and without cortex and it does what it is supposed to do which is dampen the vibrations & feel.

[jorel]

Originally Posted by wangs78

Pete was old school. He wore the same type of sneaker (Nike Air Oscillate) for pretty much his entire career. This is not a guy who likes change. He might even still be learning how to use the Internet, check e-mail, etc.

i know for a fact he texts

[Andres]

In fact, a lot of players are playing with "old" frames with modern Paintjobs, specially the PC600 and the PSC6.1

[benxten]

there are some technology that actually works. these are the ones that stay around even after new technology or material are introduced. like someone said before, cortex could be considered one since its still around babolat after it was first introduced but only time will tell if it lasts. now pws on the wilson racket has been around for awhile, this is a technology that works. it was in the prostaffs, the hammers, the ncodes, and the kfactors and will prolly show up in future wilson rackets.

[chiru]

Originally Posted by benxten

there are some technology that actually works. these are the ones that stay around even after new technology or material are introduced. like someone said before, cortex could be considered one since its still around babolat after it was first introduced but only time will tell if it lasts. now pws on the wilson racket has been around for awhile, this is a technology that works. it was in the prostaffs, the hammers, the ncodes, and the kfactors and will prolly show up in future wilson rackets.

are there new technologies? absolutely. are there any technologies that do wat they advertise? sure. there are also others that for seemingly no reason drill two holes in wat would appear to otherwise be a sound racket.

nevertheless, in terms of composition, rackets have not changed all that much. players are on average playing with bigger rackets now than say in the 90s, but i don't think that's because of a change of racket technology. It's a change in how people play the game these days, and because of the newer polyester strings.

players that play with smaller super heavy rackets like the prostaff 85 or the k prostaff 88, or the tour 90 can all tell you the following thing: it's not for whipping the racket. It's a heavy frame that moves through the air smooth but not quickly: it's for a fundamentally different type of frame than say an aeropro or the like. it's a frame that does much much better for an eastern forehand than for a western one. moreover, it's stability is super apparent when going for big serves (tremendous "plow through") and is solid from an inertial and torsional mass standpoint when volleying, i.e. it won't twist or pop back when striking a shot hit at you really hard. these attributes suited sampras's game, while an aero pro drive for instance is a fantastic racket which doesn't do all of these things as well.

on the other hand, the aeropro provides a much larger surface area to keep the ball on the strings. this allows not only for shots hit off center (which some people think is the only use of a larger frame) but instead allows for a racket motion that brushes up on the ball and thus keeps the ball on the strings longer. this allows for the generation of spin a la rafa nadal. this is somethign the prostaff can't do. However, it's not a big deal: that's how pete played. suggesting he play with a RADICALLY different stick would be tantamount to suggesting that he retool his game.

It's a chicken and the egg thing: because rafa played with a larger racket, he developed his topspinny game. because rafa plays a topspinny game, he plays with his racket. because pete played with a wood frame and later the ps85, he hits flatter strokes. because he hits flatter strokes (and comes to net) he hits with a ps85.

now the real q in my mind is why didn't he upgrade just a little from an 85 to a 90 or so. i think the answer is: if you aren't going to upgrade radically, why take the risk of losing your timing and upgrade at all? that seems to be more nearly the kind of personality sampras had, so in all honesty i'm not that surprised.