New Fischer Pro #1 105 sq. inch

[Guga_x]

Just hit with one of these on practice.

It has the new magnetic thing.

320g unstrung, seemed a little head light, altough I didn't get the full specs. It is standard length.

A curious thing, the distance between the first cross and the throat is very small. You almost cannot get the dampner in place.

It has a very smooth feeling from the baseline, almost like a volkl feel, a lot smoother than the Pro 1 FT I use. Altough I am not a big fan of oversized heads, I tried to give it a fair test, so here goes (please remind this was a 1 1/2 hour practice only).

From the baseline I could generate plenty of spin, but it seemed to lack a little pop. When I tried to get that tad bit more of power from her I would lose control. Also felt a tiny bit light, but that was maybe because of the larger head I am not used to. Also noticed the lack of head mass on my slices from both sides. The ball keep missing the usual weight and bite.

Serving felt ok, especially the kick serve. I could generate lots of spin, since I could accelerate the racquet head tremendously. My first serve lost control, altough it had plenty of pop.

The lack of mass was felt again on the volleys. I found it a little to light for me, especially when under fire.

So concluding, this could be a nice racket for someone who wants to play from the baseline with lots of spin potencial and a decent power rating. I think that baseliners with a rating between 3.5-5.0 should give it a try. Maybe with a little added weight on the head it would be better for even higher baseliners.

By the way I would rate myself around the 4.5 level, altough only from the rating description, since in Europe we do not measure it that way as you know.

[NoBadMojo]

nice review Guga..another classic example of classic frames morphing into lighter and larger headsizes. any idea if/when these are coming to the US?:

[Guga_x]

I haven't got a clue. I am not even shure when they'll be released for the public here in Europe.

I hope I will be testing the 98 sq inch head today. I'll let you know how it felt...

[routlirh]

Are you going to try the Fischer 'Retro' Pro 98 that they are releasing? It's supposed to be like the 90's vintage Vacuum Pro 98 but I can find out very little detail about specs etc.

[Guga_x]

Ok, as promised I just tried the 98 for a couple of training sessions.

Let me start by saying that it was strung with some Gamma thick string that I could not figure out at about 27kg. After a couple rallies it was already all over the place, so I am not shure that I could get a proper feel for the racquet with this string...

It feels heavier and especially more solid than the "old" Pro 1. To me it's main feature is the difference in performance and feel between the sweetspot, wich is relatively small and the remaining parts of the string bed, which led me to constantly being adjusting my stroke, offcourse leading to erraneous playing. But believe me when you find that sweetspot you get the best feeling I have had with a racquet in a long time.

Other than that you get more power than with the last pro 1 on your ground strokes and a more solid feel at the net. Serving also felt nice with me being able to provide both power and spin a little better than with the old one.

So if you are a really good and consistent player, this might be an excellent solution for you. I have to close of a grip and swing (Nadal's style if you wish) to make proper use of it.

By the way the version I tried was 310g unstrung.