Professional Stringing Room; A Behind the Scenes look of the Delray Beach ATP 250

[Rabbit]

Originally Posted by mikeler

I have no trouble believing Jimbo would say something like that.

You know, the guy I talked to who wound up getting Connors most every tournament after the more senior stringers assigned him the first time, said that Connors always paid and Connors always tipped. Say what you want about Connors, he appears to at least appreciate a good string job.

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by Rabbit

You know, the guy I talked to who wound up getting Connors most every tournament after the more senior stringers assigned him the first time, said that Connors always paid and Connors always tipped. Say what you want about Connors, he appears to at least appreciate a good string job.

Unlike Mac according to Drak!

[forthegame]

Great thread, drakulie. Thank you! 5 stars!

[Rabbit]

Originally Posted by mikeler

Unlike Mac according to Drak!

For some reason, I have zero, nada, nil problem(s) believing that John McEnroe believes the rest of us exist to serve him in any capacity he feels necessary for free.

[bigmatt]

I got to string for Connors at a tournament in the 80s, and he was delightful: hung around and chatted with us on more than one occasion, played with his daughter like a regular dad, and even remembered we wanted a picutre with him after losing the finals. My opinion of him did a 180 after that event.
Fortunately, he'd quit using the T2000. He quipped: "Bet you guys are glad to not see that thing, eh?" Said he'd had to throw them all out -- even the ones in his trophy case -- because he kept going back to them.

[jim e]

Originally Posted by Rabbit

drak, this thread just keeps getting better and better.

regarding tubing, I spoke to a guy who strung for Connors at some tournaments when he was using the T2000. He said that Connors used natural gut (naturally), but required that each turn in his frames be tubed. Now that would be a PITA. He said Connors was always great with the stringers and when he walked in on day 1 would usually ask "OK, who's my b!tch this week?"

Hi Rabbit: I don't know if you ever strung a T-2000 with nat. gut.
Back in the 60's to early 70's I strung a great number of those racquets.
I only had to string one in Nat. gut, and unlike Connors I had to string this at a high tension as well.
Needless to say, every bend around each wire loop needed tubed, and took a real long time, and concern of breakage. After that job, even though it worked out okay, I refused to string a T-2000 with nat. gut from that point on, was just not worth it at any cost. It was not a bad racquet to string once you did a few, but not with nat. gut.

Your comment brought back memories!

[bfactor61]

Thanks dark for posting this!

What does isner use? i always thought he used a full red code, but some people on tt have said that he used kirschbaum pro line II. Also harrisons frame had a pht/vs hybrid, but he is playing with a full bed at indian wells

[Irvin]

Originally Posted by bfactor61

Thanks dark for posting this!

What does isner use? i always thought he used a full red code, but some people on tt have said that he used kirschbaum pro line II. Also harrisons frame had a pht/vs hybrid, but he is playing with a full bed at indian wells

Tecnifibre Pro Red Code 16 String

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/play...l?ccode=JISNER

Irvin

[heftylefty]

Very cool Thread. Thanks for the insight!!

[Mdubb23]

Drak, I can't thank you enough for the time and effort you put into this. Kudos!

On another note, did you catch a code in the throat of Young's frame, or were there just retail markings? If there was code, was it a PT57A? I've yet to see any in YT Radical paint, but I have come across a couple in YT Prestige paint.

Again, thanks!

[Rabbit]

Originally Posted by bigmatt

I got to string for Connors at a tournament in the 80s, and he was delightful: hung around and chatted with us on more than one occasion, played with his daughter like a regular dad, and even remembered we wanted a picutre with him after losing the finals. My opinion of him did a 180 after that event.
Fortunately, he'd quit using the T2000. He quipped: "Bet you guys are glad to not see that thing, eh?" Said he'd had to throw them all out -- even the ones in his trophy case -- because he kept going back to them.

Very cool. I've never met Connors, but from those I've talked to who have, he's been great. It seems his brash arrogant side only comes out in front of a camera.

Originally Posted by jim e

Hi Rabbit: I don't know if you ever strung a T-2000 with nat. gut.
Back in the 60's to early 70's I strung a great number of those racquets.
I only had to string one in Nat. gut, and unlike Connors I had to string this at a high tension as well.
Needless to say, every bend around each wire loop needed tubed, and took a real long time, and concern of breakage. After that job, even though it worked out okay, I refused to string a T-2000 with nat. gut from that point on, was just not worth it at any cost. It was not a bad racquet to string once you did a few, but not with nat. gut.

Your comment brought back memories!

Jim, you may have thought it in the past, but now you're going to have it confirmed. You're going to know how geeky weird I am. I have 3 T2000's, all in pristine condition, one of them is the variant the Connors used (the one with the welds at the throat, not the plastic thingy). Anyway, when I get bored, I'll cut the string out of 'em, break out my Wilson sent, Rabbit scanned in .pdf of the stringing instructions, mount them as only they are mounted on my Neos, and string one up.

My wife asked me last time I did it why? Why? Why!? You don't play with them enough to string them. I told her stringing a T2000 was to me like Sudoku was to her.


Oh and drak, please excuse the hijack, it wasn't intentional!

[mdqm]

Magic Man!!! Soon, you have to join me on these adventures. You still have to come over and check out the Baiardo.

hey my friend,i hope next year we can work together in another great adventure,thank you so much for the invitation for try your baiardo.i wish met soon we have a lot to talk.
un abrazo.see you soon

[drakulie]

Originally Posted by uk_skippy

I've also had the enjoyment of stringing his rqts. I agree about the string being slippery/oily. At least the tension wasn't too high. about 22kg??

Groth is a nice guy, and his wife's not bad either

Regards

Paul

uk_skippy, yes, Kunitsyn was in the 22kg range. up or down a kg or two.

And Groth was great. Unfortunately, didn't meet his wife.

Hope all is well across the pond, and thank you for all your support. It really helped me throughout this tournament.

Originally Posted by Carolina Racquet

Drak... another question on Isner's frame and stringjob...

I believe the stringer used tubing in the throat area of Isner's frame. Does Isner use the "hard bridge" or goes without a bridge altogether? Can't feed tubing through the stock soft bridge, so something's up...

Thanks and great thread and pictures.

Carolina, here is a better shot of the throat piece on Isner's frame.

Originally Posted by Lakers4Life

I was at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells yesterday. I saw Flippo pushing his "String Thing". I also watched the Ryan Harrison/Raonic match, great match, BTW. Ryan seemed to be using a Pure Strom, and not the black proto type in the pictures. I was trying to see where the Stringing Room was, but I think only players and staff had access.

I believe we may have been one of the few that were able to handle this frame.

Originally Posted by blastforehand

Got any observations or data on players wanting same or different tensions for mains and crosses?

Observations or data on strings used? Or guage? (Assuming 1.25mm.) Were many using two different strings? Was Polystar Energy used much or at all as a cross only string? Or something else?

Did any player use a string job for more than one match?

Thanks for the great thread and great job.

blast, unfortunately, I don't have the data you are referring to but could give you a bit of insight.

Much of the strings were in the 1.25 range or smaller.
PolyStar Energy from my recollection was only used by kunitsyn.
Most players only used their frames once, and immediately had them re-strung. Some didn't even use them once, and yet brought them in the following day for a re-string.

Originally Posted by Rabbit

drak, this thread just keeps getting better and better.

regarding tubing, I spoke to a guy who strung for Connors at some tournaments when he was using the T2000. He said that Connors used natural gut (naturally), but required that each turn in his frames be tubed. Now that would be a PITA. He said Connors was always great with the stringers and when he walked in on day 1 would usually ask "OK, who's my b!tch this week?"

Hey, Rabbit. I've been meaning to call you but have been extraordinarily busy. As for Connors frame, our very own Geoff from the Tennis Warehouse boards was his personal stringer and hitting partner for some time, and would tube Connors frame entirely and string it with a 3 box pattern with natural gut. OUCH!! He also strung for Mcenroe as well as was his hitting partner.

Originally Posted by beernutz

This is funny and needs more love. Too bad you couldn't go out later with him as he sounds like a fun guy to hang with.

I assume the players all bring their own string reels to the tournament but what happens if they run out while they are there? Do they borrow from other players who are sponsored by the same string company or do you guys in the stringing room have extra on hand? Do all the pros get all their string supplied to them by a sponsor?

Thanks again for posting all these anecdotes.

beer, yes, they bring their own reels. Sometimes they borrow from othe players, or buy from us. But mostly they have back up reels.

And yes, I would have loved to go hang out with Groth. He was very funny, and nice guy. LOTS of energy.

Originally Posted by bfactor61

Thanks dark for posting this!

What does isner use? i always thought he used a full red code, but some people on tt have said that he used kirschbaum pro line II. Also harrisons frame had a pht/vs hybrid, but he is playing with a full bed at indian wells

My understanding is that he was using Pro Line 2. But keep in mind, a lot is going on in a string room, with a boat load of string lying around, and dozens of frames being worked on in a very short period of time. hard to be 100% accurate on every little detail. But I do recall asking ken what he was stringing with, and he said Pro Line 2. I'll check all my photos and see if I could find his reel in one of them, or find a photo with one of his receipts.

Originally Posted by Mdubb23

Drak, I can't thank you enough for the time and effort you put into this. Kudos!

On another note, did you catch a code in the throat of Young's frame, or were there just retail markings? If there was code, was it a PT57A? I've yet to see any in YT Radical paint, but I have come across a couple in YT Prestige paint.

Again, thanks!

Hey, Mdubb. DY's frames had the retail markings. However, Dodig's frames didn't and did have the pt57 code in them. Here is a photo. Wish I would have gotten a better one.

Originally Posted by heftylefty

Very cool Thread. Thanks for the insight!!

You are very welcome.

[The Djoker]

drak, what is Blake's string setup?

[drakulie]

^^Luxilon Alu Power 1.25 at 68 lbs.

[rufusbgood]

Originally Posted by Irvin

I think we completely understand what you are saying but have no idea of why it makes a difference.

Irvin

The reason it makes a difference is that if the string goes under the last main it is inclined downward into the lower, wider part of the clamp teeth. If you go over the last main the string is ascending through the higher, narrower part of the clamp teeth. Especially with slippery strings and clamps that are not diamond dusted the difference is significant. Here's an illustration (note the increase in clamp/string contact). In reality, there is even more clamp string contact when you do the crosses at the widest part of the frame, because there the teeth only stradle 1 or 2 mains (as opposed to the 4 in the pic). Also, most clamp teeth are tapered toward the top, but I am a lazy illustrator.

[The Djoker]

Originally Posted by drakulie

^^Luxilon Alu Power 1.25 at 68 lbs.

Thanks! just wondering

[andtapes]

Originally Posted by rufusbgood

The reason it makes a difference is that if the string goes under the last main it is inclined downward into the lower, wider part of the clamp teeth. If you go over the last main the string is ascending through the higher, narrower part of the clamp teeth. Especially with slippery strings and clamps that are not diamond dusted the difference is significant. Here's an illustration (note the increase in clamp/string contact). In reality, there is even more clamp string contact when you do the crosses at the widest part of the frame, because there the teeth only stradle 1 or 2 mains (as opposed to the 4 in the pic). Also, most clamp teeth are tapered toward the top, but I am a lazy illustrator.

Sorry I guess I didn't get it.

Do the strings on A clamp gets more tight than on Clamp B or vice-versa?

[Irvin]

Originally Posted by andtapes

Sorry I guess I didn't get it.

Do the strings on A clamp gets more tight than on Clamp B or vice-versa?

What 'drakulie' is saying, is that when the cross string goes over the outside main (B) the string is slipping through his clamp. The only way he will have less tension is for the string to slip with all else being equal. Unless of course he let one racket sit for a while and loose tension and then compared it to a freshly strung racket. I have a suspecion the clamps are not slipping but there is something else that is changing somehow somewhere to throw off the readings. I have no idea what it could be at this point.

Irvin

[dadozen]

Wow, amazing thread Dark!

Thanks for sharing with us!

More pics more pics!!!!!