Gentlemen, my last holic experiences:
Well, the first one should be considered as rehab, given that I've made the switch to the Wilson Blade 16x19 (2013). I strung those with Yonex poly tour spin, at 23 kg, my favorite set up, (cyclone at 24kg comes second). I play them stock, and to my surprise my three Blades have the very same specs.
These Blades have a healthy sw while being pretty light, it works for me, they are fast and pack a good punch, no issues stability wise. 10-15 grams of silicone at the handle should make an interesting mod, but for now I prefer them bone stock.
The magic behind this racquet is the balance between power and control. I don't think that it is harder to control than other frames in its class (8 mains in the throat, 21 mm beam and 65 flex suggest controllable response in my book). For whatever reason they shine on my down the line shots (both wings).
When serving, I find good access to power and spin, very adaptable to the different serves ( it's definitely a feature I appreciate).
I enjoy the feel of the Blade, especially with a crisp poly, with softer strings it become to dampened/vague for my taste.
It's not a racquet that wowed me at first, but it allowed me to play my best tennis quite often, the decision was only logical. (Racquets probably matter 1% of your game, but since this sport is so mental, that 1% is fairly important).
The second intruder in my bag is Yoko:
I changed the rectangular pallets to the Tk 82 s (more octagonal) and put a Wilson Blade/juice butt cap instead of the Tecni one (I like it flared). I like leather plus over but my hand not so much, so I put a synthetic base grip, finally I placed some lead at 10 and 2 (6 gr total). Take into account that when you switch the pallets, the grip size increases, the Tk 82s don't close perfectly leaving 1 mm aprox of separation between them.
I love this frame, the feel is fantastic, (so sweet that when I return to the Blades I need some shots to forget) it is very precise and the response is impressive, I only find it underpowered when defending, but when you are in command there's plenty of power and goatness to be had. It shines on flat and slice serves, but to me lacks something on the kicker. It's the more "pro stockish" frame I've tried,but I'd like it came with a heavier sw or a lighter static weight so there would be more options when customizing. Had not it been for that, the fact that my game is more topspin oriented and my preference for Wilson grip shape, this would be my weapon of choice. In any case, this won't leave my bag.
Next I'm going to try is the Vcore 97 tour F 310 gr, the darth Maul yonex. If it plays as sweet as it looks, it will be epic.
