With the DoppioQ+5G incoming tomorrow, I decided to play with the 'ol v7 blade tonight. Strung up months ago with TS and no dampener - what a feel, my god. The key is no dampener with this racquet, it doesn't really ping at all and the feel is just fantastic this way. Yeah, I can't sell mine.
Pros and cons:
- Control was of course, fantastic
- it's really tough going straight back to 18x20 after using open 16x19 patterns, but also adjusting back to 3-4 pts HL balance combined with the tight pattern is tricky too. The higher 336 SW - not much of a problem though.
- biggest issue I had was trajectory and spin. I got used to hitting a certain way and getting extra spin and height with the PA/Ripper so with the v7 I really had to exaggerate the racquet drop a bit to get the same type of net clearance and bite on the ball.
- I would have really nice patterns where I could drive the ball i/o a few times, see the short ball and attack it to the other side for a winner. But I also dumped a lot of shots in the net that I usually do not.
- hitting rally balls was nice and controlled and I loved that I could dial up big shots when I saw opportunities. My slice was nice and mean and the kick off the bounce from big topspin forehands is a timing disruptor.
- Comfort is unmatched. The only real soreness I get is a little forearm workout feeling, most likely due to the higher SW.
- I was gassed after points more than usual. I'm not in top shape right now, but this frame takes some energy to use if you are hitting out. It's really demanding for long rallies with big hitting.
Here is what I'd like to get out of the blade v7 if I could change it:
- I want a stiffer frame, for an even more direct ball. The Blade takes a good amount of energy even for rally balls. It's noticeable coming from a tweener. I don't need tweener power, but I just want to be able to shape my rally balls a little more with a bit of brush and then drive the attacking shots with accuracy. I'd like to save a little bit of energy out there if possible too.
- Larger headsize and a little more open pattern would be great. The Blade's 98 head size is fine but a 100 and less tighter spacing could really help with the above issues.
- More whip to attack short balls. It takes a lot of practice to dial in the short ball attack shot with any frame, but the Blade requires some serious focus. I can get it back, as I was doing this well when it was my full time frame, but it really takes some serious focus.
- A little more spin and whip on serve. I was enjoying how this frame served, its pretty great. That said, the timing has to be pretty dead on to get enough brush to consistently hit heavy spin serves into the court without going long.
I'm really thinking the DoppioQanon5G may solve this. What I am unsure about is the lower swingweight and higher HL balance. Is it too much whip? Good news is the static weight is higher so that will surely help. Plus I can always add a little lead at 12 if I am too early on my shots. What would be cool is if that frame also does not need a dampener. That's 2-3 free grams for slight lead mods, which I think placed at 12 would solve any potential SW issues. I will of course, start stock.
Those are my random musings from a nice 2 hour session in great weather.