Kenny022593
Professional
So I received a set of Babolat M7 from the local rep a couple of weeks ago and took it out for a playtest. When he gave it to me, he gave his sales pitch and when I equated it to other companies who have already done it, like Tecnifibre, he assured me that this was brand new and the best product I would try of its kind. This is the first string of its kind that I am trying.
As a point of reference, my usual string is Pro's Pro Hexaspin 1.25 strung at 56 lbs. Before that during my Spring season at RIT, I was using a hybrid of Gamma Moto 17 and Wilson Sensation 16 strung at 55 lbs.
Review in 5 words: Control, flat, stiff, low powered
Racquet: Tecnifibre T-Fight ATP 305
Tension: 56lb strung on an Alpha Axis Pro
Comfort: The first time I took this out for a hit it felt really stiff. I actually had some wrist pain which I don't normally get with a full poly set up strung at the same tension. As the strings wore in, they never really got to the point where they were mushy. The stiffness became a little bit more tolerable after the first hit, but it never became soft. It actually felt stiffer than my full poly set up.
Groundstrokes: The power level was very low with the M7. This wasn't a bad thing, though. The low power was the redeeming quality of this string. Since the power level as so low, the control was unreal. I felt like I could place the ball wherever and swing out on anything without much repercussion. The downside to this was that the string wasn't very forgiving. Sometimes I would hit a little outside of the sweetspot and my balls would land short. With that said, though, I think this string is a baseliner's dream. One thing that I feel like I should highlight is that the launch angle off of the string is very low. When I switched back to full Hexaspin, I felt like I was moonballing. It was the first time I experienced that so I thought it was cool.
Volleys: M7 was terribly average at the net. I thought that it would have more of a multi feel, but it was just very boardy. It felt like it had more pop at the net when compared to the baseline, though. Volleys went deep, but I wouldn't consider M7 to be a string for people who like to come to net.
Serves: Serving was a chore because of the low powered nature of M7. I felt like I had to put everything I had into my serve to come out with a penetrating serve. This might not be a problem for people who hit flat serves, but both my first and second serve are topspin/kick. It was very hard for me to get the extra oomph on my kick serve to make it effective. If I didn't place my serve perfectly I felt like I was on defense to start the point.
Durability: I hit 1.5 hours on Hard Court and 3.5 hours on dirt (Har-Tru). So 5 hours of match play in total. The outer coating of the string broke open in the sweetspot around the 3 hour mark, and at the 5 hour mark it looked like it would break in the next few points. So, I put it away and brought out my other racquet with Hexaspin in it. I'm not a string breaker, but to put it into perspective, if I was using full syn gut, it normally breaks around the 6 hour mark.
Playability: The string played pretty similar throughout the 5 hours I had it in my racquet. The last 15 minutes or so it started to soften up and launch balls, which is why I figured it was going to break soon. If you're not a string breaker or aren't able to fray the string within 3 hours, then it should play great for you over the course of it's life in your racquet.
Overall Comments: I'd give this string a 4/10. Would I recommend it to someone? Probably not. It's too expensive and misses the mark on blending multi comfort with poly control. I feel that it could suit some players, mainly the ones who hit flat and want a higher level of control, but I also feel that it would be too uncomfortable for many to use.
As a point of reference, my usual string is Pro's Pro Hexaspin 1.25 strung at 56 lbs. Before that during my Spring season at RIT, I was using a hybrid of Gamma Moto 17 and Wilson Sensation 16 strung at 55 lbs.
Review in 5 words: Control, flat, stiff, low powered
Racquet: Tecnifibre T-Fight ATP 305
Tension: 56lb strung on an Alpha Axis Pro
Comfort: The first time I took this out for a hit it felt really stiff. I actually had some wrist pain which I don't normally get with a full poly set up strung at the same tension. As the strings wore in, they never really got to the point where they were mushy. The stiffness became a little bit more tolerable after the first hit, but it never became soft. It actually felt stiffer than my full poly set up.
Groundstrokes: The power level was very low with the M7. This wasn't a bad thing, though. The low power was the redeeming quality of this string. Since the power level as so low, the control was unreal. I felt like I could place the ball wherever and swing out on anything without much repercussion. The downside to this was that the string wasn't very forgiving. Sometimes I would hit a little outside of the sweetspot and my balls would land short. With that said, though, I think this string is a baseliner's dream. One thing that I feel like I should highlight is that the launch angle off of the string is very low. When I switched back to full Hexaspin, I felt like I was moonballing. It was the first time I experienced that so I thought it was cool.
Volleys: M7 was terribly average at the net. I thought that it would have more of a multi feel, but it was just very boardy. It felt like it had more pop at the net when compared to the baseline, though. Volleys went deep, but I wouldn't consider M7 to be a string for people who like to come to net.
Serves: Serving was a chore because of the low powered nature of M7. I felt like I had to put everything I had into my serve to come out with a penetrating serve. This might not be a problem for people who hit flat serves, but both my first and second serve are topspin/kick. It was very hard for me to get the extra oomph on my kick serve to make it effective. If I didn't place my serve perfectly I felt like I was on defense to start the point.
Durability: I hit 1.5 hours on Hard Court and 3.5 hours on dirt (Har-Tru). So 5 hours of match play in total. The outer coating of the string broke open in the sweetspot around the 3 hour mark, and at the 5 hour mark it looked like it would break in the next few points. So, I put it away and brought out my other racquet with Hexaspin in it. I'm not a string breaker, but to put it into perspective, if I was using full syn gut, it normally breaks around the 6 hour mark.
Playability: The string played pretty similar throughout the 5 hours I had it in my racquet. The last 15 minutes or so it started to soften up and launch balls, which is why I figured it was going to break soon. If you're not a string breaker or aren't able to fray the string within 3 hours, then it should play great for you over the course of it's life in your racquet.
Overall Comments: I'd give this string a 4/10. Would I recommend it to someone? Probably not. It's too expensive and misses the mark on blending multi comfort with poly control. I feel that it could suit some players, mainly the ones who hit flat and want a higher level of control, but I also feel that it would be too uncomfortable for many to use.
