Post Pictures of your Racquets and Tennis Gear

[nViATi]

http://img111.echo.cx/img111/6114/mg65021hl.jpg

[Craig Sheppard]

Here are my sticks...


My main ones are the Pro 1's...my 3rd is on loan to a fellow TW'er

I think I might have a brand bias...hmm...

[BreakPoint]

Gotta love that Dunlop Maxply, Craig! Do you still hit with it now and then? That's the woodie I grew up using.

I see you still have your Pro Extremes and X-1 also. I still need to hit with the Pro #1 one of these days. I know you love it, so I'm wondering if it's better than my PS 6.0 95's.

[Craig Sheppard]

BP, I'm so embarrassed--I've actually NEVER hit with it! <yikes> I bought it on a whim of **** for $9 a few years ago and have wanted to hit w/ it but never got around to it. I just hang it on a wall and look at it like it's awesome...

Well, if you're ever around NC or near Philly (my parents/family lives there), you can hit with mine. I just hit w/ a PS 6.0 95 recently for a few min. Noticed right away it definitely was lower powered than the Pro 1. Higher swingweight too. More vibration, and <gulp> should I say it, felt less stable. That was only about 2 or 3 min with it though doing groundstrokes only. I need to pick up a PS 6.0 95 and 85 for my collection! Someday.

[BreakPoint]

Craig,
No need to be embarrassed. What would be even more embarrassing is trying to use a Maxply these days playing against someone using a modern graphite racquet. Yikes!!!

Yes, the PS 6.0 95 isn't the most stable feeling stock. I guess that's why so many users add lead tape. However, it has that raw, natural, flexy, wood-like feel that many, including me, seem to like. It has a tiny sweetspot, but when you hit it, nothing feels better IMHO. Miss the sweetspot and be ready for some vibration. It also hits slices like a hot knife through butter! Next time you get your hands on a PS 6.0 95, I suggest trying some serves with it. Next to backhand slices, serving is its strongest suit.

[tennisnoob]

Here's mine:

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jtradi...bum?.dir=/ca8c

[kabob]

Originally Posted by Craig Sheppard

Here are my sticks...
http://www.cksweb.com/photos/tennis/racquets.jpg

My main ones are the Pro 1's...my 3rd is on loan to a fellow TW'er

I think I might have a brand bias...hmm...

I think we're one of only 5 people in the world that plays with Fischer Xtreme FTs

Mine including a shot of my Nike tennis duffle:





I've also got 3 Wilson Pro Staff Tour 90s that I only occassionally play with for consistency practice.

[AndrewD]

Guys,

I have to ask the obvious question: What do you do with your older racquets? I notice that most people have multiples of the same racquet so Im assuming at some stage they were all frames you used to play with. But, what about now? Are they still in use or are you holding onto the extra ones for sentimental reasons?

Oh, and do you still leave the strings in, even if you aren't using them?

- I only ask that as I saw a couple of Dunlop 200G's (my old, original racquet from when I was playing state level comp) and they were notorious for warping. I used to have 8 of them (all broke or warped over the years) but would never leave strings in if they weren't part of the rotation (would have 3 in rotation at any one time then go to the next group). The one time I did it warped -

[tennisnoob]

Mostly for sentimental reasons for the extra ones.....though its taking up awful lot of space!

Plus some of the classic frames like the Knessl, Addidas, Puma and Rossignol are worth keeping IMO.

[AndrewD]

Well you've got to keep the special ones. I know Ive got an old Head Prestige Pro (think its the first generation Prestige) and a Prince Precision Mono plus a Classic, POG and Graph Comp 110 that will be kept for those reasons.

Ideally I'd like to have
1. Dunlop 200G (original version)
2. Rossignol F200
3. POG midplus
4. PS 6.0 85
5. Wilson Profile 95
6. Snauwert Hi-Ten 50
7. Fischer Stan Smith
8. Puma Boris Becker Super
9. Head EdgeWood or the Head Vilas (or both lol)
10. Yonex R-22

of course there are others that would be nice to have and I haven't included any of the old wooden frames. Kicking myself that I put an old Prince Boron and Woodie into storage and they appear to have gone missing. If I had those two Id have a nice line up of the early Prince frames

[muklucke]

Put me down as one of the 5 Pro Extreme FT users. I have 4 of these sticks and i can use anything else!

[tennisnoob]

Originally Posted by AndrewD

Kicking myself that I put an old Prince Boron and Woodie into storage and they appear to have gone missing. If I had those two Id have a nice line up of the early Prince frames

Ouch! You lost a Prince Boron and the Woodie!?!?!? That's gotta hurt!

[AndrewD]

Its more a nuisance than anything else. I got them both second hand for $60 and $70 a number of years ago. The Woodie still played quite well but the Boron had been broken and repaired which made it pretty darn heavy. The Woodie was smooth as silk and Id actually say if you liked a heavy-ish frame with quite a bit of flex and were willing to string it quite low you could still play with it today.

Guess one day I'll try to replace them. Have to say though, the Woodie and the Head Edgewood were two of the best looking racquets I've ever seen. Nothing beats that classical combination of wood and leather.

[tennisnoob]

Originally Posted by AndrewD

but the Boron had been broken and repaired which made it pretty darn heavy.

Broken & repaired???? Repaired in what sense?

[paulfreda]

How does that Mfil200 feel in comparison to the other venerable classic racquets you have there ??

[GregOz]

tennisnoob, if you break a racquet you can have it repaired, assuming the damage isn't Safin-esque. Im not sure of the exact process, perhaps someone here who is a racquet stringer/technician could explain, but I think they cut out the broken area, insert a solid bridging piece and fuse them together. It's not something you see very often so don't know if they can do it with today's racquets. It wasn't very popular back in the day as it made the racquet heavier and totally threw out the balance. I guess the person had it done as they must have paid an arm and a leg for the Boron when they first got it. I seem to remember them going for over $400+ so that's reason enough.

I remember in the 80's being a hitting partner for an American guy, Eric Korita, who came out to Oz to play the summer circuit. He used the Boron so I got a chance to have a try of his frame and, I swear, if you think the PD is stiff you should have tried that thing. Surprisingly though, it actually had more 'feel' than I expected (which means it had almost none but thats more than I expected lol).

[ffrpg]

AndrewD, I still hit with one of my Dunlop Max 200g's. Only one of them is strung. The other one is pretty much in storage. When it comes to storing racquets, the Max 200g is the only racquet that I'll cut the strings out before storing.

[tennisnoob]

Originally Posted by ffrpg

AndrewD, I still hit with one of my Dunlop Max 200g's. Only one of them is strung. The other one is pretty much in storage. When it comes to storing racquets, the Max 200g is the only racquet that I'll cut the strings out before storing.

Is it really that bad on the Max 200g? I actually do have one as well stored away in God knows where? I better take it out & look, its probably warped anyway - lol

[GregOz]

The 200G's were pretty bad for warping but the old Prestige mids also were known for that. Not as bad as the Dunlops though. Just put it down on a flat surface (head and throat only) and you'll quickly see if there's been any warping. Often it wasn't severe but just enough to be annoying. Still a beautiful racquet though, one of the truly great frames and one of the most innovative design concepts in terms of design. If I was picking out some old racquets based only on that requirement Id have the original Prince Oversize, the Dunlop 200G, the Rossignol F100 or F200 and the Wilson Profile.

[Craig Sheppard]

Originally Posted by muklucke

Put me down as one of the 5 Pro Extreme FT users. I have 4 of these sticks and i can use anything else!

kabob and muklucke, you're right... well that's 3 of us... and Hrbaty uses a paintjob, so does that count? Who could be the other person using it? Actually they're not even my main sticks anymore... Switched to the Pro 1 and loving it. But in 2 years of using the Extreme, I've never seen another one let alone met anyone using one... most have never even heard of it.