18x19 pattern Club - Djokovic, Medvedev, Agassi and...

galapagos

galapagos

Hall of Fame
One string pattern to rule them all. Are 18x19 racquets the future of "closed pattern" tennis ?

- Djokovic beats Nadal in French Open 2021 semi-finals,
- currently #1 (Djokovic) and #2 (Medvedev) ATP are playing with 18x19 pattern rackets and it seems well deserved.

Easier spin and power with the same control? More comfort on top of that ? Yes please!

WE WANT TO SEE MORE 18x19 RACQUETS!!!! Many players (if not everyone) that are using 18x19 are ex 18x20 users.
This is 18x19 FAN CLUB !

Currently available to the public (any users here???) :
1. Tecnifibre Tfight 305 RS (click for the review and see many other frames)
2. Head Graphene 360+ Prestige Tour
3. Wilson Blade SW104 Autograph
4. Wilson Blade SW102 Autograph

Pro on tour with 18x19:
- Novak Djokovic
- Daniil Medvedev
- Andre Agassi
- Janko Tipsarevic
- Denis Istomin
- Jeremy Chardy
- Tallon Griekspoor
- Gregoire Barrere
- Elliot Benchetrit
- Manuel Guinard
- James Ward
- Serena Williams
- Anastasia Myskina
- Sebastian Korda

- ?????? please comment if I didn't add someone interesting

djokovic-roland-garros-2021-sf-forehand.jpg

fzl6tk0vtgm2gdg1qeft.jpg

andre-agassi.jpg
 
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J

jman32

Rookie
IMHO, the number of mains and crosses alone means nothing. String Spacing (size of squares), head size/shape, beam thickness, weight and stiffness needs to be considered to achieve the correct balance of power, launch angle, spin and control... that ultimately is the right fit for the player. Mentioning all different rackets with the same number of mains and crosses sounds a bit silly.

my Diablo mid has a16x20 in a rounded 93” head. The top and bottom mains happen to be places very close to the edges of the frame. The actual spacing of where the ball is struck is probably closer to 16x18 and similar (if not more open) compared to prestige pro’s 16x19 spacing in a 95 head.
 
BillKid

BillKid

Hall of Fame
I really liked the TF 305RS and I don’t remember having tried other 18x19
I just noticed it « added » less topspin to the ball than some 16x19 that I demoed H2H and also than my Prince Beast 98, which is an open 16x20
If you are the kind of players who like to hit loopy balls with topspin, the 305RS is not the way to go. Beside this it’s an amazing racquet.
 
galapagos

galapagos

Hall of Fame
BillKid said:
I really liked the TF 305RS and I don’t remember having tried other 18x19
I just noticed it « added » less topspin to the ball than some 16x19 that I demoed H2H and also than my Prince Beast 98, which is an open 16x20
If you are the kind of players who like to hit loopy balls with topspin, the 305RS is not the way to go. Beside this it’s an amazing racquet.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the review. RS looks quite interesting i admit. Have you tried blade 18x20 v7 ? What would you say about the differences ?
I think not many have tried prestige tour either.
 
BillKid

BillKid

Hall of Fame
No
Usually I’m more into open string patterns and I rarely demo 18x20
But I may look at things differently in the future because I really like the 305RS
 
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galapagos

galapagos

Hall of Fame
16x19 vs 18x19 :)


we know that with 16x19 its a bit easier to import spin and achieve this high trajectory. Is it possible that tighter pattern of 18x19 helped Djoko neutralize the high bounce above the shoulder (easier to hit lower) ? When the ball is high you want to hit it lower instead of up and down (also harder to import spin from that position) . Is a tight pattern 18x20 or 18x19 the best weapon for Nadal ? Only Djokovic and Soderling managed to beat Nadal at Roland Garros I think ? Also Diego Schwartzman seemed to be close many times but never crossed the finish line.
 
D

Dasol

Rookie
BillKid said:
I really liked the TF 305RS and I don’t remember having tried other 18x19
I just noticed it « added » less topspin to the ball than some 16x19 that I demoed H2H and also than my Prince Beast 98, which is an open 16x20
If you are the kind of players who like to hit loopy balls with topspin, the 305RS is not the way to go. Beside this it’s an amazing racquet.
Click to expand...
I am demoing the TF 305RS now, and yes, it is a great frame. Compared to the blade 18X20, it has more power and more lively feel. It has less power than my pure strike 16X19, but it definitely has more control and the ball trajectory is a little lower. It has a good spin potential and the stability is awesome.
 
galapagos

galapagos

Hall of Fame
Dasol said:
I am demoing the TF 305RS now, and yes, it is a great frame. Compared to the blade 18X20, it has more power and more lively feel. It has less power than my pure strike 16X19, but it definitely has more control and the ball trajectory is a little lower. It has a good spin potential and the stability is awesome.
Click to expand...
how would you compare the maneuverability? By dropping one string out of racquet you slightly lower the SW without removing the weight from the frame so in theory you can have more stability and still faster feel. (less bulky)
 
D

Dasol

Rookie
galapagos said:
how would you compare the maneuverability? By dropping one string out of racquet you slightly lower the SW without removing the weight from the frame so in theory you can have more stability and still faster feel. (less bulky)
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I do not feel the Tfight RS305 sluggish, and compared to the blade 18X20, it is a little easier to swing. The main difference between the two seems to be the stiffness, and the relatively high stiffness of the Tfight RS305 gives a little more pop and livelier feeling in my opinion. I think the feel of the Tfight RS305 is more similar to the Head Speed Pro than to the Blade 18X20.
 
galapagos

galapagos

Hall of Fame
Dasol said:
I do not feel the Tfight RS305 sluggish, and compared to the blade 18X20, it is a little easier to swing. The main difference between the two seems to be the stiffness, and the relatively high stiffness of the Tfight RS305 gives a little more pop and livelier feeling in my opinion. I think the feel of the Tfight RS305 is more similar to the Head Speed Pro than to the Blade 18X20.
Click to expand...
uuuu I like the feel of Speed Pro but you mean more 360+ graphene speed pro or graphene speed pro from old days ? :) two totally different feelings.
 
D

Dasol

Rookie
galapagos said:
uuuu I like the feel of Speed Pro but you mean more 360+ graphene speed pro or graphene speed pro from old days ? :) two totally different feelings.
Click to expand...
I know feel is totally subjective, but the feel of the Tfight 305RS is similar to the 360+ Head Speed Pro that I previously demoed.
The Blade 18X20 is comfy and muted, while the Tfight 305RS (and the Head Speed Pro) is comfy but clean and livelier. The Blade felt tip heavy to me, while the weight of the Tfight 305RS and the Head Speed Pro seemed to be distributed equally to the entire head of the frame.
Again, this is just what I have felt and thus very subjective!:)
 
galapagos

galapagos

Hall of Fame
RoarTT said:
Has anyone tried stringing the TF40 with 18x19 with any success?
Click to expand...
skipping string is quite weird. Not many players do this. Have you first tried any of the racquets from the list above ? My plan is to try Prestige Tour and TFight RS 305
 
BillKid

BillKid

Hall of Fame
Do you think 18x19 is less arm friendly than 16x19? I’m tempted to switch to the 305 RS but I’m a bit concerned by the arm friendliness in the long term. It’s pretty head heavy and not the softest frame although the foam makes for a great feel. Any thoughts?
 
galapagos

galapagos

Hall of Fame
BillKid said:
Do you think 18x19 is less arm friendly than 16x19? I’m tempted to switch to the 305 RS but I’m a bit concerned by the arm friendliness in the long term. It’s pretty head heavy and not the softest frame although the foam makes for a great feel. Any thoughts?
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I am currently using foam filled racquet and i love it.
18x19 will feel slightly stiffer than 16x19 but you can string it lower and use thinner gauge and this overall has Maybe even bigger effect.
 
K

kingcheetah

Hall of Fame
galapagos said:
One string pattern to rule them all.
So Djokovic beats Nadal in French Open 2021 semi-finals, currently #1 and #2 ATP are playing with 18x19 pattern and it seems well deserved.

Easier spin and power with the same control? More comfort on top of that ? Yes please!

WE WANT TO SEE MORE 18x19 RACQUETS!!!! We want to learn more about this string pattern. Many players (if not everyone) that are using 18x19 are ex 18x20 users. What is going on? :) Why it might be a better choice over 16x20 or 18x20 ?

Currently available to the public (any users here???) :
1. Tecnifibre Tfight 305 RS
2. Head Graphene 360+ Prestige Tour
3. Wilson Blade SW104 Autograph
4. Wilson Blade SW102 Autograph

Pro on tour with 18x19:
1. Novak Djokovic
2. Daniil Medvedev
3. Andre Agassi
4. Denis Istomin
5. Serena Williams
6. Mikhail Youzhny
7. Anastasia Myskina
8. Ivo Karlovic
9. Svetlana Kuznetsova

djokovic-roland-garros-2021-sf-forehand.jpg

fzl6tk0vtgm2gdg1qeft.jpg

andre-agassi.jpg
Click to expand...
I use the SW102-- I love the current model's pattern as it is very dense in the middle but more open outside to allow for spin.
 
T

travlerajm

G.O.A.T.
galapagos said:
skipping string is quite weird. Not many players do this. Have you first tried any of the racquets from the list above ? My plan is to try Prestige Tour and TFight RS 305
Click to expand...
When I used BLX Blade 98 18x20 as my regular frame, I much preferred the way it played when I string it up as a 16x20 (with outer mains omitted), because those mains were too close to the edge.
 
Boubi

Boubi

Semi-Pro
galapagos said:
skipping string is quite weird. Not many players do this. Have you first tried any of the racquets from the list above ? My plan is to try Prestige Tour and TFight RS 305
Click to expand...
The Pro is better than the tour but the RS305 is just so good that i'll switch
 
V

veelium

Professional
Too bad they gave the Tfight a bigger head. Would love to try the new TFight RS305 if they kept it at 95 HS.
 
S

StanAO14

Semi-Pro
galapagos said:
skipping string is quite weird. Not many players do this. Have you first tried any of the racquets from the list above ? My plan is to try Prestige Tour and TFight RS 305
Click to expand...
Mmm prestige tour with leather could be very interesting. A more forgiving prestige MP with slightly more spin and power..
 
galapagos

galapagos

Hall of Fame
veelium said:
Too bad they gave the Tfight a bigger head. Would love to try the new TFight RS305 if they kept it at 95 HS.
Click to expand...
I think overall it was a good decision marketing-wise. People are slowly shifting from 95 to 97/98. Blades, now prestige MP, Radicals and Extreme Tour leading the way. Differences were very small when I compared some of the control oriented 97/98 to my 95" main weapon.

That being said there is something special about 95" racquets if they are made right . Maybe its harder to design a good 95? - for example Dunlop CX200 is amazing but lacks stability and plow. Vcore 95 I havent tried yet :) Maybe easier to make a 98" with a control oriented layup + more user friendly.

It could be interesting to see the " `TFight RS 95" 330g/305mm balance or 320g/310mm)
 
galapagos

galapagos

Hall of Fame
“It is somewhat predictable on the court where he can go with certain shots. Because the racquet wouldn’t allow him to use the whole court for certain shots. We actually took away a few strings, so he can generate some spin. We made the racquet lighter, the weight distribution on the racquet different. After two minutes of hitting, Novak basically said, throw all my racquets away this is my new racquet,” the racquet wizard Prokes said.

here it is in action reviewed by tennisnerd. #1 racquet on tour :) not available to the public sadly.
 
V

veelium

Professional
galapagos said:
I think overall it was a good decision marketing-wise. People are slowly shifting from 95 to 97/98. Blades, now prestige MP, Radicals and Extreme Tour leading the way. Differences were very small when I compared some of the control oriented 97/98 to my 95" main weapon.

That being said there is something special about 95" racquets if they are made right . Maybe its harder to design a good 95? - for example Dunlop CX200 is amazing but lacks stability and plow. Vcore 95 I havent tried yet :) Maybe easier to make a 98" with a control oriented layup + more user friendly.

It could be interesting to see the " `TFight RS 95" 330g/305mm balance or 320g/310mm)
Click to expand...
Yeah for sure, 98 is the more popular headsize and I can understand why they did it. The tecnifibre 95 headsize is also a tad bigger than a wilson six one 95 for example (says 615cm^2 on the racquet compared to 613 for a six one).
It's not a big difference but personally the 95 headsize is just in that sweetspot where manouverability is great and stabilty is fine too without adding too much weight. I have my tfight 305 with leather grip and some lead to around ~335-340g strung.

The dunlop cx200 is great but you need to add weight. As you said, in stock form it's too unstable, pretty nice with some lead at 3&9 but I haven't tried it with my preferred specs yet. The vcore 95 has some great reviews, would love to try it (probably needs some extra weight as well).

galapagos said:
It could be interesting to see the " `TFight RS 95" 330g/305mm balance or 320g/310mm)
Click to expand...
Yeah, though I prefer to have a sligthly lighter racquet and add weight myself.
 
marco forehand

marco forehand

Semi-Pro
I've settled in with a couple of "classic" over sized racquets with 18/19 string pattern (lead tape added to all but the 6.1 OS)
Wilson Pro Staff 6.1 OS (std length not the stretch, 110)
Wilson Hyper PS 6.5 OS (std length, 110) (current fav despite the challenging paint job)
Wilson K Blade Team (27.25", 104)
I wanted the Prince Phantom 107 to be my racquet (great paint job and Textreme!) but missed the control that the 18/19 string pattern provides.

The Head MicroGel OS offers the 18/19 experience (but I find the lower flex rating to low powered)
 
galapagos

galapagos

Hall of Fame
18x19 king.

Here is the idea for Head - kill prestige tour and add Speed Tour racquet with 18x19 pattern, smaller headsize, thinner beam but heftier specs...

at least something closer to what Nole is using....

thanks

wimbledon.jpg
 
galapagos

galapagos

Hall of Fame
I've done some research and it looks like if you want to search 18x19 users then the biggest chance is to look at Tecnifibre ATP players. Added some to the list. Its growing but still kinda small for such a string pattern with big names in it.

To put that into context. In olympics quarter-finals there are 3 players with that pattern. Djokovic, Medvedev and Chardy.
 
galapagos

galapagos

Hall of Fame
Curtennis said:
Just leave out the last cross on any 18x20 and you can play like Novak too. 18x19 is that special.
Click to expand...
im not sure its that simple :) on tour i know some yonex players were ignoring one string to make the pattern 16x19 instead of 16x20 but i guess you must be sure that the pattern will still perform good and gives consistent response.
 
galapagos

galapagos

Hall of Fame
How could i miss this name... Of course Mr Tipsarevic is an amazing 18x19 pattern Ambassador :)

What a player...great technique and pro approach. Huge self-awareness also has his own academy and helps next gen players :)

there was something on YouTube how he took young players under his wings and gave them some pro tips. One of the guys was Fucsovics.

00095IT0TCAE394Q-C122-F4.jpg
 
galapagos

galapagos

Hall of Fame
BoxbeamsFTW said:
Been looking for a 18x19 racquet I can switch to since 2018. (No relation with Djokovic)
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Not so big choice Hah? Thats why i created this thread. Its an open petition to racquet brands to create more of them and to those who already have them in offer to keep investing in it.
 
F

flex

Semi-Pro
I just checked the Speed Pro on TW, the djokovic endorsed racquet. It is 18x20. I know endorsements are to be taken lightly. But so Djokovic uses a 18x19 but Head produced a 18x20 instead? Whats the reason for this?
 
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