Ok, i hit with the mythical 99s.
This is a nice racquet, it has a very wilsony feel to it. It still is stiff, and there is no doubt about that. I do find it more comfortable than the apd, so when i say stiff i mean that it plays stiff. It is a pretty powerful racquet.
The specs are great and it is easy to hit very relaxed with depth. When i dialed it up and took a rip, it unleashed a very nice deep ball with nice kick on the end of it. Was it spin that will change tennis as we know it? Not really to me. As stated i hit with a lot of spin anyway, so i can bend the ball down easily as sharp with my blade (4g mains/ogsm crosses).
Positives are that the trajectory is nice and high. Negatives are that the trajectory is nice and high. What i am getting to is this really will boil down to personal preference. I am really into the djokovic or agassi style of play so i just love the lower more penetrating trajectory of the tighter patterns. And the facts are that the blade is a more accurate racquet for my game. I also prefer the feel of the blade as more strings makes me feel more connected to the ball.
All that aside i think this is a fine stick by wilson and very possibly the new tweener of choice for many fans of this type of racquet. If you prefer control sticks or already hit with a lot of spin, i am not sure what you will get out this racquet. You will have to use full poly and restring on a weekly basis to protect your arm.
This racquet does not have the same amount of control that i am used to with the blade. To me, great control and placement is more valuable than heavy topspin since i already generate that. You can hit flat with this racquet, but it is not ideal for that style unless your swing speed is not very high. You will want to be rolling over the ball more often with this stick like you would with the apd.
Which leads me to the real comparison as comparing it to my blade is not really ideal. I have now hit with the apd 13 and the 99s. I believe the spin level with the 99s IS higher, but not by an incredible amount. If you are trying to get the most topspin possible though, the 99s wins. In comfort, the 99s is definitley easier on the arm (mine was strung with full 4g and the apd was full rpm blast). In terms of feel, i love the feel of wilsons and this reminds me a little of the 6.1 in the sweet spot. It just clearly is in the wilson family in terms of feel. Solidity wise, it is more solid than the apdc, but not in the class of the blade. The blade is the benchmark for solidity in a lighter stick imo. Power wise, it is right up there with the the apd..so if you like to roll over it or brush more than crush, the racquet will give you the extra oomph to keep the balls deep.
Finally, serves are very easy to spin in. I didnt notice a huge difference except the blade hits a bigger flat serve for me. I like serving with the 99s over the apdc easily.
I know there have been some rave reviews and i am sorry to not be as excited. I do not think this racquet will make anyone better at tennis or change the game or leave racquets in the dust..etc. it just doesnt work that way. BUT i do see this racquet becoming a huge seller in the club ranks because it feels great and basically does everything the apd does for rec player - just better. So if you are a fan of the pure drive or apd, definitely try this stick. I think it is a fantastic tweener.
If anything changes over the next few days while i have it, i will post, but im not switching from my blade.