Djokovic gave away his racket in the Olympics

[martini1]

I have read quite a bit about pro players using all kinds of rackets painted like something the sponsors market on this board. Well, I am thinking about this. I remember seeing Djokovic gave out one of his rackets to a fan in Beijing after a match (if I remember right, it's the one before he played Nadal). If the manufacturer doesn't want the public to know this "secret", they probably won't allow Djokovic to do such a thing, would they?

I mean, even if that fan is not a racket expert, she could post some pictures out there for everybody to see. So I wonder if Djokovic is really playing the same "base" racket with some heavy customization. It's virtually the same racket on the outside so he doesn't care to hand them out to fans.

Any takers?

 

[Automatix]

And what are the chances that the one getting the racquet has any idea about paintjobs etc. etc.

Besides the info on this forum should be enough to make sales of certain models drop, let's say about 20-35%.


Examples why it's not such a big of a deal:
1 - posers don't know what racquet is a pro really playing with but if it looks similiar enough then there's no problem;
2 - a variation of posers know what racquet is a pro really playing with but if it looks similiar enough then there's no problem;
3 - some people just don't now and they're not really interested in knowing (by that I mean they don't put extra effort to check the info other than looking up a frame via TV during a match) what a pro is playing although they play with a racquet which is supposed to be used by their favorite player;
4 - real players choose their racquets based on their game and not who is endorsing/playing with certain frames;
5 - kids aren't really suspicious of pj scam and their choices often are based on emotions etc. so they'll take what the manufacturer;

And these 5 groups are enough to make a racquet sell.


Now as I said above the internet is full of info about paintjobs yet still you'll find coaches, players and stringers who don't know a thing about pj's and blabber about Mauresmo playing worse because switching from her M-Fil 300 yadda yadda yadda...

You get what I'm saying?

 

[OleNole]

So I wonder if Djokovic is really playing the same "base" racket with some heavy customization.

I'm pretty sure that I've seen somewhere on this forum that Djokovic's racquet is one of the furthest from the model he endrses of any pro. I believe he uses a custom mould based on the Head Liquidmetal Radical he used as a junior in a 95 sq in head size. The racquet he endorses (KBlade Tour) is completely different.

Also, players pretty regularly give away frames they break, especially in practice.

 

[Racquet Man]

I'm pretty sure that I've seen somewhere on this forum that Djokovic's racquet is one of the furthest from the model he endrses of any pro. I believe he uses a custom mould based on the Head Liquidmetal Radical he used as a junior in a 95 sq in head size. The racquet he endorses (KBlade Tour) is completely different.

Also, players pretty regularly give away frames they break, especially in practice.

Tarie, who posts on this board, confirmed that he received Djokovic's racquet at this years tounry in Rome, and has posted pictures and details about the racquet. Do a search under Tarie's name and/or perhaps Tarie may want to add further comments to this post.

 

[Necroblood]

I know that djokovic always gives out his frames. He did it two years ago at the sony ericson and as racquet man says in Rome as well. I'm pretty sure he doesn't give a damn but the manufacturers definitely do.

 

[Marcos]

I have read quite a bit about pro players using all kinds of rackets painted like something the sponsors market on this board. Well, I am thinking about this. I remember seeing Djokovic gave out one of his rackets to a fan in Beijing after a match (if I remember right, it's the one before he played Nadal). If the manufacturer doesn't want the public to know this "secret", they probably won't allow Djokovic to do such a thing, would they?

I mean, even if that fan is not a racket expert, she could post some pictures out there for everybody to see. So I wonder if Djokovic is really playing the same "base" racket with some heavy customization. It's virtually the same racket on the outside so he doesn't care to hand them out to fans.

Any takers?

In the official Masters Cup site there's been for almost a year a very high resolution photo clearly showing the painted cortex in Nadal's racquet (http://www.masters-cup.com/3/portraits/), so manufacturers don't seem very afraid of exposing their fraud.

 

[bladepdb]

What's Wilson gonna do? Drop the world #3 just cuz he gave away his racket at AO & the Olympics? He's hugely marketable in eastern Europe (dare I say globally?) and he doesn't suck at tennis either, so I don't think Wilson's gonna cry over a couple of racquets handed out to rich tennis fans who have first-row seats.

 

[Mick]

safina did the same thing, she threw her racquet to the crowd after she had lost the gold medal match to dementieva