Davydenko's 2009 new racquet?

Mikey Fresh

Banned
84153530.jpg

Looks alot like the speed mp 18x20 the grommets are exactly the same black with the white inside and in the bottom right corner there there is where mine says head in that exact same location, im thinking its the head speed mp 18x20
 

OliverSimon

Hall of Fame
His string at the WTF seemed to be white. I don't think he's using polystar anymore because isn't polystar yellowish..?
 

Ross K

Legend
So, having read through virtually all this thread, seems we can just about say it's 'case closed' then?... Speed Pro 18x20 or something very similar?
 

Leelord337

Hall of Fame
he obviously didn't stick w/that head racquet, the racquet he won the masters cup with had the unmistakable prince o3 holes

93478972.jpg
 
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BigT

Professional
So we still think he's using something like Polystar Energy?

For sure he still is. He knows what he's doing...it's a great string. If other pros tried it, they would probably switch; but most don't try anything new.
 

ccjta

Rookie
Looks similar to the mold of the Diablo MP. Maybe Prince has something new up their sleeves?

Sorry Nick but Prince with the big holes to help with racquet head speed is baloney unless you try to hit the ball with the side of the frame! Prince knows the Ozones and Speedports are a gimmick and don't help. Why do you think everyone uses the "inserts". Now it's just a regular racquet with big holes in it. Maybe they should buy Head's idea and make the holes on the side and call it a SpeedFlexPoint.:shock:
 

nalbandian

New User
But if I'm not mistaken Davydenko never had a contract with Prince, which id why he never had the "P" stenciled on his strings.
 

Deodorant

Rookie
judging from the white grommets and the head shape of the racquet, thin beam, and head shaped pallet, it probably is a head racquet just blacked out for demo'ing.
 

mctennis

Legend
So what the heck racquet is he actually using? All this chatter and no solid answers. Of all the people watching and going to matches surely someone has seen his racquet up close.
 
R

roddickslammer

Guest
For gods sake everybody. I noticed it the first time I saw it. Its a youtek speed model!
 

TheOneHander

Professional
Sorry if this is old news

Last year, there was something interesting posted in another thread...it was a custom EXO3 Graphite 100 with an 18x20 string pattern (retail is 16x18 ) with specs similar to Kolya's (at least for length)-it's even got his name in the throat. It's a TX237P layup with handle type 2, 4 and 1/2 gripsize, and just under 27.5" in length. Sorry if this is old news, but still thought it was pretty cool! I'll see if I can quote the pics in my next post.

All credit to thirdrail

OneHander out
 

TheOneHander

Professional
This is the original post, all credit goes to thirdrail

Hi everyone,

A couple of months back I ordered a brandnew exo3 Graphite 100 from a pawn shop in New Jersey over the internet! Even though I saw pictures of the unstrung racquet, I was quite surprised when it got here. Instead of your standard Graphite 100, this was a modified Graphite 100 with a string pattern of 18x20. It also has Davydenko's name on it.
It really was brandnew, never been played with, never been strung.
I put on the new Prince exo3 Glory 17 strings and was blown away by the amount of spin I could generate. Loved it from the baseline and the net, service speed was ok but not great. After about five hours of play I started to have shoulder problems when serving. I finally figured out that these new Glory strings really do not last very long and cut them out. I then had it strung with Big Banger Alu Rough. Wow! The same awesome amount of spin but even more power in every aspect of my game. There are only two things that keep me from continuing to play with this great stick:
1. Since this racquet is some sort of prototype, I won't be able to find another one just like it;
2. It lacks a little bit of stability on my backhand side (single handed backhand).

That's why I switched to the (standard) Rebel 95. The added weight feels great, especially on my backhand, much more stability. I must say I'm really impressed with this stick. I have yet to play it with the string hole grommets, but I will do so when I put new strings on.

Before trying these exo3 racquets, I played the Babolat PDR+. Completely different racquets, but I have never served with anything like the Babolat PDR+. But except for the pure service speed I can generate with the PDR+, I prefer the Rebel 95 in all other aspects of my game.

Thanks for this great thread btw.

And here are the pics. Sorry, I don't know how to embed photos :cry: They're also from thirdrail



Thanks to thirdrail for the sweet photos!

OneHander out
 

TheOneHander

Professional
Interesting frame...I wonder why he didn't try it out in a small tourny?

You would've thought that he would have at least tried out the frame. Maybe because he's not under contract anymore.

And a little bit more information from that thread, which can be viewed here: http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=275896

Anyways, when Prince was first developing the Rebel (yes, not the Graphite-the Rebel), they made letters A through P, all of different layups and balances. This is one of the codes for that-the "P" is probably just another layup code.

The thread above is very informative. There's also some information about Gael Monfils's Rebel too. Check it out!
 

nalbandian

New User
Ya, I think that it's pretty obvious that it's head due to the white teflon grommet, so perhaps he is using the extreme pro(since it's similar in specs to his old racket) but just blacked out because he hasn't officially left prince yet. And it could be either the youtek, or the 2009 microgel version or the youtek because the both have the white grommet.
 

TheOneHander

Professional
It is a French company called Airess<sp>.

Not to be rude, but he actually ended his contract with Airness. There's a thread in this section somewhere. There's some spectulation that he's headed for Lotto, which makes sense because Lotto just lost Ferrer to Joma (a Spanish clothing and shoe company).

OneHander
 

OliverSimon

Hall of Fame
Not to be rude, but he actually ended his contract with Airness. There's a thread in this section somewhere. There's some spectulation that he's headed for Lotto, which makes sense because Lotto just lost Ferrer to Joma (a Spanish clothing and shoe company).

OneHander

He signed back with Airness for 2010
 

lefty10spro

Semi-Pro
In his match last night against Verdasco, Davy had his trusty Ozone Pro Tour and it was stenciled which means Prince probably ponied up the bucks for 2010. Good move by Prince - Davy is amazing!
 
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LPShanet

Banned
In his match last night against Verdasco, Davy had his trusty Ozone Pro Tour and it was stenciled which means Prince probably ponied up the bucks for 2010. Good move by Prince - Davy is amazing!

According to Davy himself, he has a rather unusual arrangement with Prince. He has stated that he is sponsored by them for the Grand Slam tournaments only, and that for the rest of the calendar year, he plays without a contract. In a recent comment, he attributed this to their spending all their money on Sharapova.

Based on his performances, this appears to be backwards thinking on their part, as all of his good results have come at non-Slam events! Even he doesn't think that his game is conducive to winning Slams.
 
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