UK TT racquetaholics and tennis bums

[Meaghan]

Originally Posted by Aggro

Had a hit today with my mates Babolat Pure Drive Roddick - my god what a horrible stick!!!

I really dislike babolats, don't like the feel, don't like the beam thickness - nope nope nope!

totally agree, i remember buying it thinking i would be able to blast people off court, the reality was I couldnt swing it fast enough to generate real power, just stiff and thick. Even the pst and pc whilst not as stiff and with better feel still have an ungainly presence.

also livescorehunter is the best streaming site for tennis atm

[Aggro]

Originally Posted by Meaghan

totally agree, i remember buying it thinking i would be able to blast people off court, the reality was I couldnt swing it fast enough to generate real power, just stiff and thick. Even the pst and pc whilst not as stiff and with better feel still have an ungainly presence.

also livescorehunter is the best streaming site for tennis atm

I seemed to have 2 outcomes with it:

1. The ball would spin so much that it would hit the top of the net
2. I would hit it a tad too hard and it would go into the fence

I should mention it was strung with BBO at around 50lbs so all in all a pretty girly setup!

Im up in Basingstoke in 2 weeks for my LTA course and i think the shop there has a prince stock of rackets so i might see if i can try the tour or i was looking at the black version?? Again the beam seems a bit thick for me though!

Either way will have to wait for the beginning of may to purchase a new stick and this time i will actually put some solid hours on the court trying them out! instead of a 3 hour hit and 'yea that'll do'

[Meaghan]

Originally Posted by Aggro

I seemed to have 2 outcomes with it:

1. The ball would spin so much that it would hit the top of the net
2. I would hit it a tad too hard and it would go into the fence

I should mention it was strung with BBO at around 50lbs so all in all a pretty girly setup!

Im up in Basingstoke in 2 weeks for my LTA course and i think the shop there has a prince stock of rackets so i might see if i can try the tour or i was looking at the black version?? Again the beam seems a bit thick for me though!

Either way will have to wait for the beginning of may to purchase a new stick and this time i will actually put some solid hours on the court trying them out! instead of a 3 hour hit and 'yea that'll do'

The ozone tour is 18-20-18mm which is great....the exo3 tour is a mm thicker i think. Prob the easiest racket I've used.

[Meaghan]

Just gotta say its a feel good day for me. Had a coaching session some good drills. A good workout. Then at the end of 2hrs played a competitive tie breaker to ten. Obviously playing a former world ranked player and your county's over40 no.1 is daunting and i lost the first four points. I dragged it back to 9-9 win by two. At 13-13 i had a match point and worked really hard to get myself the opportunity of a pretty easy run around fh down the line which i pulled six inches wide. Lost in the end 17-15. Great playing with someone at this level, his depth and control is so consistent and anything remotely short got punished. He's not big on power although not short of it he elects to find the angles and corners in a very easy way. I suppose Thats why i asked him to help me in the first place....
Happy day tho it made me feel like i can actually compete at a decent level

[Ross K]

Hey RHs,

Any one with some good contacts (maybe overseas) or whatever care to steer me towards a standard size Pure Control Swirly?... I've been looking around, checking my normal sources, etc, but no luck, zero.

Am wondering if it's going to be like when, having played about with the Rad Tour Twin Tube XL, I eagerly awaited getting hold of the standard size... and then after near on a year with no standard size coming my way, I gave up on the idea. Suffice to say, a few years later and when I wasn't so keen, a few were offered my way (I eventually bought one, but then I wasn't so into it.)

Cheers

R

[Ross K]

Another thing...

As I've been hitting with the PC+ Swirl of late - and just finding I really like the consistent thumping effortless b-line performance, feel, plowy stability, spin, control, etc - I have been watching old vid footage of Fernando Gonzales smashing the absolute hell out of the ball! Following some debate on my "Diary' thread re this frame and it's suitability to 'moderen' b-line topspin play, it's been interesting to me to note he appears very much a typical latter-day baseliner player - who routinely incorporates a lot of topspin in his play... or am I wrong?

Rich, Dave, others - Any thoughts on him as a player (I haven't seen too much of him TBH), or views on the PC+ Swirly and its suitability or not to 'modern b-line spinny' play or whatever, or Gonzo's own actual frame (Jamie, ever strung it or know much about it?), please post your thoughts.

Ta

R

[jazar]

Originally Posted by Ross K

Rich, Dave, others - Any thoughts on him as a player (I haven't seen too much of him TBH), or views on the PC+ Swirly and its suitability or not to 'modern b-line spinny' play or whatever, or Gonzo's own actual frame (Jamie, ever strung it or know much about it?), please post your thoughts.

Ta

R

Haven't had the chance to string for him; think he's with P1. All I know is that there is a fair bit of lead on there.

[Meaghan]

Ross
email sent.

Love gonzos game. For me he is one of the most talented players. Shame he's injured as he stands up there with the big hitting delpo sod Berdych etc.

[origmarm]

Love Gonzo's game also. A combination of him and Safin would be how I would play if I could

Ash, re string reels, what's your favourite string (at any cost)? Just gives us an idea what you might like

[Ross K]

^^^ And what is his game??! What's his individual style? Is he relatively flat-hitting, or he also uses a lot of topspin also? And is he pretty much a b-liner basher?

As I said, I haven't seen a whole load of him.

Thanks

R

[jazar]

On another note, I've always wanted to ask Fernando Gonzalez if he can head the drums.

[Ross K]

Originally Posted by jazar

On another note, I've always wanted to ask Fernando Gonzalez if he can head the drums.

Eh?... Ah, is it a reference to the Muppet Show?!

R

[Meaghan]

Originally Posted by Ross K

^^^ And what is his game??! What's his individual style? Is he relatively flat-hitting, or he also uses a lot of topspin also? And is he pretty much a b-liner basher?

As I said, I haven't seen a whole load of him.

Thanks

R

big serve, volleys beautifully, great touch ( i once seen him drop shot from the baseline with so much spin it bounced back over the net) mixes it up but yeah topspin baseline game, flattens it out and has maybe the biggest fh in the game, 1hbh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noD-RnmYQcs playing nadal

[jazar]

Originally Posted by Ross K

Eh?... Ah, is it a reference to the Muppet Show?!

R

Nope. An ABBA song.

[Ash_Smith]

Originally Posted by origmarm

Love Gonzo's game also. A combination of him and Safin would be how I would play if I could

Ash, re string reels, what's your favourite string (at any cost)? Just gives us an idea what you might like

To be honest Rob, i'm not too fussy! I just fancy trying something different. I normally go Nat.Gut and Alu Power when I'm actually playing (very rare these days!) and Tyger Reflex when teaching.

I suppose I'm looking for some strings that people have been surprised by or tried on the off chance and they turned out to be likeable!

As for Gonzo...

I once asked him about his game and why he generally went all out for shots when others were more consistent with all their big spin? His reply was that he would get bored and that he enjoyed going big on his shots - when he was "on" he knew he would win and when he was "off" he knew he would lose. To him that was acceptable as either way he had fun out there!

Admirable mentally I think - he might have had more success had he changed his style but he wouldn't have enjoyed it so much.

Cheers

Ash

[Ross K]

^^^ Cheer chaps for Gonzo thoughts etc.

BTW, excellent video Rich. Ta


R

[nickynu]

Originally Posted by Ross K

Hey RHs,

Any one with some good contacts (maybe overseas) or whatever care to steer me towards a standard size Pure Control Swirly?... I've been looking around, checking my normal sources, etc, but no luck, zero.

Am wondering if it's going to be like when, having played about with the Rad Tour Twin Tube XL, I eagerly awaited getting hold of the standard size... and then after near on a year with no standard size coming my way, I gave up on the idea. Suffice to say, a few years later and when I wasn't so keen, a few were offered my way (I eventually bought one, but then I wasn't so into it.)

Cheers

R

Ross I promise you from everything I know this is THE stick for you. This is the one, the only..... the holy grail. Just dont swap it after a week, live with it sleep next to it, breathe in time with it, finesse it, make it a part of you, and you will achieve your goal my son. The lesson endeth here.


Now if we could just find on of the bug&ers

[origmarm]

Ross re Gonzo, I think Ash and Rich have nailed it. Big serve, mostly baseline. Just some nice creativity and an amazing forehand when flattened out. I think most though Ash has it right when he says that he basically just goes for it all the time:

Originally Posted by Ash_Smith

when he was "on" he knew he would win and when he was "off" he knew he would lose. To him that was acceptable as either way he had fun out there!

A man after my own heart! I couldn't have put it better myself!!

Originally Posted by Ash_Smith

To be honest Rob, i'm not too fussy! I just fancy trying something different. I normally go Nat.Gut and Alu Power when I'm actually playing (very rare these days!) and Tyger Reflex when teaching.

I suppose I'm looking for some strings that people have been surprised by or tried on the off chance and they turned out to be likeable!

I'm going to vote for big hitter blue rough in that case. I loved the hell out of it. I'm unfortunately off the poly at the moment due to the arm but if I wasn't I'd be playing at the moment with this or SPPP. Very different strings but like them both. I'm sure you've played SPPP so give the rough a go if you're feeling like something new. They have it at the "world"

[Ross K]

Rob,

Ta, yes it seems the qsn of his game style is irrefutable - a b-liner (and by definition someone who uses a lot of topspin)... I just needed to clarify a few things as I've seen very little of him really.



Nick,

Ross I promise you from everything I know this is THE stick for you. This is the one, the only..... the holy grail. Just dont swap it after a week, live with it sleep next to it, breathe in time with it, finesse it, make it a part of you, and you will achieve your goal my son. The lesson endeth here.


Now if we could just find on of the bug&ers

Ha ha - very funny!.. post of the day ... but where to get them from indeed??!!... btw, if you still have that PC Team I sold you/your mate a while back for a give away, I seem to recall, and you/he wants to move it on - email me... (That's the problem with getting rid of rackets - frequently you regret it!)


R.

[nickynu]

Originally Posted by Ross K

Rob,

Ta, yes it seems the qsn of his game style is irrefutable - a b-liner (and by definition someone who uses a lot of topspin)... I just needed to clarify a few things as I've seen very little of him really.



Nick,



Ha ha - very funny!.. post of the day ... but where to get them from indeed??!!... btw, if you still have that PC Team I sold you/your mate a while back for a give away, I seem to recall, and you/he wants to move it on - email me... (That's the problem with getting rid of rackets - frequently you regret it!)


R.

"A give away" Splutter !!!...... it was £200 in 3/10 condition as I recall, with postage by chauffeur gold plated Bentley bringing up total costs to an even thousand. ... Shh !

Erm no it was a good deal now I think about it, but unfortunately my mate shows no racketaholic tendancies whatever so sorry I cant get it back.

Did you see the guy in America selling a swirly on da bay who kindly mentions it has a paint chip ....... or as I like to call it after looking at the pic a big dirty great crack