Laver and the grip....

[El Diablo]

I was interested to read in the new Wilson racquet review that Granville misses his old grip shape. I saw Laver interviewed a few years ago, and he was asked about players who pull out a new racquet with each ball change. The Great One responded that once he came upon a racquet with a grip that felt right, he used it until it broke. Nothing makes for well controlled shots as much as a firm grip; it's the reason I tend to wander back to Prince, which seems to fit me perfectly. Players on this board sometimes seem a little too cavalier about buying a racquet with a grip that feels all wrong (Head and Volkl leap to mind) and then trying to fix it.

[rooski]

Back in the Laver days of wood the QC was no where near where it is today. You could take 10 Jack Kramers marked the same size and weight (ie. 4 1/2 L) and they would vary greatly. You might get one at 13 oz and the next one at 13.5 oz. The grips were also variable. My point as you have guessed is that it made sense for Laver and anybody else playing in the days of wood to find.. and stick to a favorite until it broke. I know I did.

One last note...I am one of those ppl that got comfortable with Head grips. Prince feels square, Wilson feels round...head now feels just right

[Kevin T]

Totally agree with grip shape and performance. I used Pro Staff 6.0 95s for ~10 years and swore I would never use anything else because I loved the grip too much. Head, Volkl, etc=yuck!!! I pretty much took last year off from competitive tennis and concentrated on squash (use the Head ix160g-basically the Prestige of the squash line) and guess what? Now I love the Head grip shape! Go figure. Got back into tennis last month and my Roks feel like I am holding a cylinder, just too round. That flat grip is great for flat forehands, serves and slice backhands. Tough to adjust on the one-hand backhand if you aren't used to it. To each his own, I guess. Now I'll have to blow more coin on Head tennis racquets. Sigh.