newpball
Legend
Recently I bought a Babolat Aeropro Drive (2011) and wanted to share some experiences with various strings and tensions on this racket.
I tried three different configurations:
1. RPM Blast 18 gauge @56lb
2. RPM Team 16 gauge @42lb
3. Gut 15 gauge @60lb
All three configurations played very differently.
I actually like the Blast configuration best, it gives me the highest fahrvergnugen, the bite is enormous and there is great spin. But the downside is volleys, it feels like you are hitting a block of concrete with your bare hands, not very comfortable. Certainly this is not a smooth ride, arming the ball or a stiff grip will be very hard on the arm. But it is a lot of fun to have the racket do the work when you hit with fast strokes.
The Team configuration was very disappointing compared to the Blast setup, I really do not like poly with such a low tension. The bite was not there which may be partly due to the thicker strings, spin however was still good. After about 10 hours of playing the bed was too soft and I felt that volleying became a bit unpredictable.
The gut, which is still on my racket, is brand new and feels rather boardy. I think it is a lot harder to play with this setup. It surprised me that it is definitely less powerful than the Team and just slightly more powerful than the Blast setup. I can do spin but the follow through is totally different from poly and you have to stroke deeper into the ball, and it is harder to keep the ball in. On the other hand it is far more relaxing with gut. However one thing that stands out and that is the serves, they are really great with this setup, much better than both of the RPM strings.
I just got the gut but at this stage I am not so sure if the stiff ADP with thick and high tensioned gut is such a good idea, but I will give it some more time to get used to and see if the gut 'loosens up' a bit.
I tried three different configurations:
1. RPM Blast 18 gauge @56lb
2. RPM Team 16 gauge @42lb
3. Gut 15 gauge @60lb
All three configurations played very differently.
I actually like the Blast configuration best, it gives me the highest fahrvergnugen, the bite is enormous and there is great spin. But the downside is volleys, it feels like you are hitting a block of concrete with your bare hands, not very comfortable. Certainly this is not a smooth ride, arming the ball or a stiff grip will be very hard on the arm. But it is a lot of fun to have the racket do the work when you hit with fast strokes.
The Team configuration was very disappointing compared to the Blast setup, I really do not like poly with such a low tension. The bite was not there which may be partly due to the thicker strings, spin however was still good. After about 10 hours of playing the bed was too soft and I felt that volleying became a bit unpredictable.
The gut, which is still on my racket, is brand new and feels rather boardy. I think it is a lot harder to play with this setup. It surprised me that it is definitely less powerful than the Team and just slightly more powerful than the Blast setup. I can do spin but the follow through is totally different from poly and you have to stroke deeper into the ball, and it is harder to keep the ball in. On the other hand it is far more relaxing with gut. However one thing that stands out and that is the serves, they are really great with this setup, much better than both of the RPM strings.
I just got the gut but at this stage I am not so sure if the stiff ADP with thick and high tensioned gut is such a good idea, but I will give it some more time to get used to and see if the gut 'loosens up' a bit.
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