Diary of a Racketaholic

[Power Player]

Yeah many pros use open patterns it seems like, but there is a nice balance. And then you have the current king - Joker, using a tight pattern with a very soft flex, and he looks unbeatable hitting line drives with that western grip.

Open patterns help you get net clearance so I think that is the main reason a lot of pros use them. Hitting the net is the worst error in tennis.

[Boricua]

Anyone tried the Volkl C10 Pro? Impressions?

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by Boricua

Anyone tried the Volkl C10 Pro? Impressions?

I could feel the racket flex...a lot. Not a sensation I enjoyed.

[YesTennis]

For the PP and other closed pattern fans-just saw that TW posted their written review of the Head Graphene Speed Pro-really high marks. Interesting that Andy said he got as much spin with this as the APD. May need to give it a demo.

[JGads]

Originally Posted by mikeler

I could feel the racket flex...a lot. Not a sensation I enjoyed.

Agree. Nice frame, easy pop, but some Volkls are just too noodley for my taste.

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by JGads

Agree. Nice frame, easy pop, but some Volkls are just too noodley for my taste.

Yep, glad I can't feel that same sensation with the Exo Tours.

[klementine79]

Yep, nice mix of closed patterns vs open patterns on tour. 6 top10er's are swinging open patterns and 4 closed patterns. That seems like a good indication for the rest of the field as well, probably close to 60% open and 40% closed.

It would depend on what you like to do with the ball and from where, but more important for me, and why I go 18x20 usually is 1.) don't have to string as often and 2.) String choices open up. I can go full multi/gut if any part of my body is bugging me.

It's interesting though. Both patterns perform better in different situations/shots but I never leave 16x19's and go back to 18x20's thinkin'..'this is terrible, I can't play'. It's more along the lines of... 'shoot, there goes another string job or I want a full bed of gut/multi'.

[Ross K]

Originally Posted by Boricua

Anyone tried the Volkl C10 Pro? Impressions?

Hi B.

You're talking about one of my all time fav frames actually.

As referred to by others, it's chief trait for many is the soft flex. "Think" deep pillowy pocketing. FWIW, this can be addressed to some degree, if you so desire, by using full poly.

For me though, it's just the fantastic way it swings, the balance and weighting. There's something about it in this respect that makes it stand out. The sense of timing the ball, rhythm, being in sync, fluidity of swinging, whatever, is what I always get with this rac. I always compare it it to a very high end, high performance racing car going through the gears. It just swings so beautifully IMO.

Other aspects I'd cite is the excellent 'old school' quality build composition. It's solid. There's great feel and touch. Serve-wise I think it's quite a kick serve frame. It's low-medium power. And, unlike some, I always thought it was pretty whippy.

Anyhow, it's a special frame in my book, and if you think it might be something you need to investigate, I'd highly recommend checking it out.

BTW, I'm talking about the older Bumblebee version (pre-Fishscale, about 2008, I think), but I hear the more recent iterations are just a tad stiffer but barely any different.

[Ross K]

PP, others,

Just thinking about the Blade here (open pattern), one spec that stands out for me (as in an alarm bell starts ringing), is the 1pt head-light balance. What's the story with that? How does it swing for you guys?

Given how I'm liking the Pure Control so much latterly (BTW, I'm talking more now not of the heftier Swirly but of the later and lighter PC Team (W: 335, SW: 327, B: 7 pts h/light, RA: late 60's (or so), S/P: 16X20, H/S: 98" )... I suppose I'm wondering how it might compare.

Suspect it would be a tad too demanding. Maybe like the Prestige Pro was - a frame I really liked and slightly toiled with until admitting defeat. You never know though.

[Fuji]

I picked up some new "light" frames from a girl that trained at the IMG Academy. She plays unreal Div 1 tennis, (and she even asked me to hit with her once my injuries are healed up! )

Anywho, codename "Light" is in full effect starting Monday to test the waters! Hopefully I get some enlightenment with these frames!

-Fuji

[Power Player]

Originally Posted by Ross K

PP, others,

Just thinking about the Blade here (open pattern), one spec that stands out for me (as in an alarm bell starts ringing), is the 1pt head-light balance. What's the story with that? How does it swing for you guys?

Given how I'm liking the Pure Control so much latterly (BTW, I'm talking more now not of the heftier Swirly but of the later and lighter PC Team (W: 335, SW: 327, B: 7 pts h/light, RA: late 60's (or so), S/P: 16X20, H/S: 98" )... I suppose I'm wondering how it might compare.

Suspect it would be a tad too demanding. Maybe like the Prestige Pro was - a frame I really liked and slightly toiled with until admitting defeat. You never know though.

It swings through great as long as you are around 335 weight range or less. Just more weight going into the head so you can really hit a big ball and still have a lighter racquet. Honestly think you will dig it.

[crosscourt]

Originally Posted by Power Player

Also have to say I disagree with the Babolat being the racquet for people who play "the modern game". You can play the modern game with any stick besides wood really.

The APD is best for players who like to brush the ball. That's really it. That is why it has so much power and is so stiff. I play open stance with lots of top, and that's pretty much all the modern game is. In fact to me, the modern game is simply taking the Agassi style of hardhitting baseline play and adding more spin to it so your balls stay in.

I have been playing that style of tennis since I was a junior, the only thing that has changed is the strings are a lot better for higher level players. That is why for me, the closed pattern is so good. If you know what you are doing, you can lift the ball as high as you want over the net and hit deep topspin balls. But you can also hit through the court and finish off points with laser flat balls. It's the best of both worlds for me.

But anyway I preferred the steam 99s to the APD because it has a better feel to it and is weighted better for me. I think they are both very similar though.

I don't agree. The modern game isn't about the angle you attack the ball at. It is about how you win points. What you can do with the APD is very different to what you could do with most rackets even ten years ago -- there may have been exceptions like the RD7. High level tennis is now played with lighter rackets that can do far more than the heavier rackets we used to play with. And the rackets that look like the ones we used to play with now perform completely differently. The current Head Prestige mid is, superficially, similar to older versions. But in reality it is a different stick altogether. To me this is all to the good. The professional game is much better than it was in the 90s and early 2000s. And amateurs from serious players to weekend warriors now have for more solutions to their game based problems than they did 15 years ago.

[Power Player]

Originally Posted by crosscourt

I don't agree. The modern game isn't about the angle you attack the ball at. It is about how you win points. What you can do with the APD is very different to what you could do with most rackets even ten years ago --

It's really not that different man. It's not a magic racquet. It's a power stick for people that brush the ball. So in that aspect it's more modern, but pretty much every top player is using a 10 year old frame and they are doing things to the ball that defy logic because they are the best in the world. It's more about the poly strings than racquets becoming lighter and stiffer. Poly changed the game more than any racquet.

[Power Player]

Forgot to add that the Team plays pretty well with lead at 12. It is 325. I think the way to go though is to add 6 grams in the head at 3 and 9 and 7 in the tail. At that point it will be a little closer to the blade's power.

Currently is not as powerful or solid as the blade, but it has that "extension of the arm" feel to it. The multi in it really does not do the racquet much justice as it's probably low tension by now and is a little launchy.

Such a cool stick really. I definitely may put one in the bag next to the blades. I switched back and forth today and since they are so close in weight and balance, I had no issues.

[Ross K]

cc,

You know, it seems to me that maybe YOU should be playing with the new APD?!



Fancy it?

[JGads]

^
Ha. One of my all time favorite Rafa pics.

[Power Player]

Lol..you can just hear him saying..."no?".

[crosscourt]

Originally Posted by Ross K

cc,

You know, it seems to me that maybe YOU should be playing with the new APD?!



Fancy it?

I would love to. Every so often I buy a Babolat - either the APD or the PDR -- and play with it for a while. Unfortunately my elbow and wrist find both rackets difficult to play with. Ever since I played the Tour 90 and then the Diablo mid for a while five years or so ago I have had elbow and wrist problems. But while I play the Babs I love what they do for my game. Granted the feel isn't the same as a Pestige and you don't get lovely things like "ball pocketing" from them. On the other hand the power and spin, and the way that you control power with spin, and the type of shots that you can hit, are of a different order. What they give you more than anything is a better ability to turn defence into attack which is what so much of the game is about as you get better. But of course I can see that for most older plays - and I am one - they are a shock and a challenge at a number of levels. A guy I play with regularly was one of the best juniors in Europe twenty something years ago. When he plays with the PDR his game is amazing. But he doesn't like the feel - what he calls loss of control - and so most of the time he plays with a Volkl Organix 10 light. At which point he is easy to play against. And the idea that he loses control is nonsense. What he means is that the racket doesn't give him the feel of being in control in the same way. I am not knocking him for his choice - he knows what he feels comfortable playing with and that is an important factor. But he is looking for reasons to play with a racket that gives him less game.

I have to play with something softer so the Mantis 315 or the latest Prestige mid are what I go to court with. The Head is a very interesting racket because it bears little relation to previous versions of the mid. It has been adapted for the modern game. If you hit the ball right you can get huge power and spin on it. And of course as PP points out the strings make a big difference.

What I don't understand though is the view that the modern game is nothing more than about brushing up the ball - with the implication that there is something almost illusory about it or that it has always been there -- see John Yandell's posts on this forum -- when you look at the efforts that the racket industry has gone to to emulate the Babolats. The Wilson Steam and Juice are just two examples of how all the major manufacturers are trying to catch up. At present though they are miles behind.

[Power Player]

I never said the modern game was nothing more than brushing up the ball. I said the APD is meant for that style.

What I am saying is that the APD has not changed the game of tennis like you infer. The poly strings have. Poly plus good footwork and technique allows you to hit more aggressive on defensive balls and attack when you could not in the past.

Honestly am not sure how the Steam and Juice are miles behind.

My Dad's Wilson Hammer was out way before Babolat existed. So was the Spaulding Assault. The Pro Kennex Destiny, Jimmy Connor's Pro Estusa (had one) and many more. It's a Pro Kennex Mold basically with an aero neck.

I do think the APD is a very modern racquet in terms of design, and I have used the heck out with good results. Just don't think of it on the level you are placing it on. I stood with Bad Call and Mikeler and watched 2 top 500 guys play. One with the Bab APD and one with the yy 95D. The APD guy came over the ball more and as a result did not have a ton of pace, but had high kicking balls.

The 95D player had trained for those balls for years and would just get off the ground and hit line drives to take over the point. And this was on clay. The APD guy simply could not hit through the ball enough to do any damage, and this guy was really good at tennis, as in - he would bludgeon us all to death out there.

[Ross K]

cc,

Yes, it's real shame that the comfort levels (or lack thereof) just makes these frames no-go areas for many.

I actually liked and played pretty well with the PD 2012. It was too stiff though. Don't know what poly exactly would be soft enough to make it feel better whilst still maintaining spin, oomph, control, etc, but, yes... and to contradict that ridiculous thread about how can anyone play a PD, that I won't even lower myself to post on... the PD, the APD - these are great rackets.

BTW, for me, the J100 and 99s both have better feel than APD and PD. Which along with a few other things is why I transitioned to them.