mileslong
Professional
background for comparison to your game:
i play singles with 12 ounce + rackets period. i serve better with mid size heavy rackets and my forehands are deadly as well with this setup. i was a baseball pitcher from the time i could first walk almost and i retired from senior mens baseball leagues this past year to concentrate on my tennis and also due to the fact i can hardly lift my arm now after pitching, even in relief roles due to rotator cuff problems. im in my 40's now and its not getting any easier.
i now find myself dragging in the final sets against younger guys as my shoulder starts to go dead and i lose my biggest weapon, my serve. they also start playing slow ball with me after the first set when i blow them away hitting hard especially with my forehand. and my arm gets tired hitting back high spinners from the baseline and they all start doing that to me now. im stuck at 4.5 because i cant play that game for 3 sets and my shoulder wont let me keep up my pace on the serve. 5.0 players and above that i play all recognize this and start taking advantage after the first set. im basically gonzalez without his talent level of course.
i have now begun the painful process of looking for slightly lighter rackets (yuk) that still have control and not very powerful. i especially wanted to find one to play doubles with, one that was very manuverable at the net. i dont get to hit that many big strokes in doubles anyway and usually only hit cut backhands so the mass i need for my one hander isnt as important.
what i found with these two finalists really surprised me and i thought you guys and gals might like to hear what i found in case you are looking at either of these rackets.
volkl DNX 9: i demoed the dnx 10 mid and really liked it, i might buy one or trade for one for my new singles racket. i recently switched to an mfils 200 and love it except it gets heavy in the third set of course. the dnx plays lighter and more powerful and i think i could handle it in the 3rd.
i read great things about the 9 and so i tried it this week. this is one i would have never demoed otherwise. too light and stiff. here is what i found. before my doubles match tuesday night i put 3 grams of lead at 3 and 9 and 4 grams in the handle using strips along the grip. this felt pretty good in my hand, not as heavy as my others but still heavy enough to have some mass for returns etc. i hate light spinny rackets and i didnt want to even try it without the lead.
i played the storm in the first set and moved to this one in the 2nd set. we playa round robin so you play 3 sets with a different partner, very hard to win all 3 sets as there is usually one weak link. i had a decent partner for the 2nd and he wanted me to start it off serving. i have a big cut first serve and a crazy kicker for my 2nd, my best weapons.
my observations:
A. the serve:
i serve pretty well with this racket, not as big as with my mfil and not quite as big a kicker as i do with my pure control but somewhere in between the two. it took a while to get into the groove with this. i was a bit late here and a bit early there but i was still getting them in. the racket didnt feel overpowered as i feared in fact i had to start cranking up the racket speed to get the desired result. when i did, i started hitting some bombs, i just had to swing harder than i expected with this lighter racket. i guess i was expecting more of the pure drive type response. i played two complete sets with this racket and doubled faulted twice but never lost serve. i was trying some different types of serves, experimenting, while in the middle of the match so only two double faults was quite good. the feel was a bit stiff but not too stiff, felt very accurate kind of like my old 200g HM. almost felt like like an 18X20 stringbed which was not bad. i would give this a 7.5 out of 10 for serving rackets.
B. ground strokes:
a. forehand: i havent hit with this against some big hitters yet but a couple of the guys i played against can bring it. i have rarely hit as many forehand winners in a doubles match as i did tuesday with this racket. i played backhand all night and when they hit one down the middle to split us i just stepped over and buried my forehand pretty much anywhere i wanted to. i felt like i could swing as hard as i could i it wouldnt leave the court. the lead helped with the stabliity and it created a very hard tight spinning shot that was right on target as to where i was aiming. i could also hit inside out as well and was just pounding it, the other team just shrugged their shoulders after each one. it was really a fun night.
the feel was not the "plush" feeling i get with my dunlops (MW and MFil) it felt a little stiff for my tastes but the result was great. didnt like the handle type that much for my 1 hand topspin backhand but i could modify it i suppose. this really felt like i was hitting an 18X20 stringbed due to the accuracy and slightly stiff feel. it was kind of like a LM radical leaded up, not plush but accurate and the dnx 9 had great spin. not light super spin like my pure control but heavy topspin that spun tight and late. 8.5 out of 10 for forehand, only the kind of stiff feel keeps it from a perfect score.
b. slice backhand: with doubles i mainly only hit slice backhands anyway and with the lead tape this one hit one of the best slice backhands of any racket i have ever played. it hits it deep and low and felt as solid as any racket regardless of the weight. no prostaff ever felt more solid hitting a cut or chop backhand. since i opted to play backhand specifically to test it out i had plenty of chances to return serve with it on this side. all i did but twice was just slice these add court wide serves back and they would come back deep and low and hard right at the feet of the server coming in. they had trouble with it all night. i even hit an outright winner down the line using a cut! 9.5/10!
topspin backhand: here i only rate this racket as average. here is when i really noticed the lack of mass i am used to for my 1HBH topspin. i really need a heavy plough through effect to be able to hit that shot consistantly, in fact a lot of my racket choices revolve around that ability since its my main weakness. maybe a flawed theory but its one i have been using. i didnt really get a great plough through feeling with the dnx 9. it was just okay, in warming up i found myself hitting some long and i had to really whip it through to keep it in deep and that of course reduces the margin of error. didnt try it with a two hander since i dont do those
6.5/10
volleys: this a GREAT volley racket. made very few errors and the racket pretty much puts the ball where you want it. it had enough pop to punch them through for winners yet not too much to lose control. feels solid and stable, the lead really helps here i think. i think this would be an excellent S&V racket despite the specs. 9/10
conclusion: i am going to try two more lighter weight rackets before i buy. the MFil 16X19 2006 model and the MFil 300G. but this racket is right at the top for my new doubles racket. with some lead it is really a terrific racket. the feel is strange, kind of stiff but not too stiff. great plough through but not on all shots. different than any other racket i have played for sure. im going to try it i think tonight in my singles match although my MFil will be crying in my bag. im sure after the first bad shot i will bag it but maybe i wont hit one!
i would recommend it anyone looking for a players racket that isnt as heavy as your typical one. i used a gamma worm as i was worried about the tinny feel i had heard about, it made the racket feel pretty good. overall i would give this racket an 8.5/10
i play singles with 12 ounce + rackets period. i serve better with mid size heavy rackets and my forehands are deadly as well with this setup. i was a baseball pitcher from the time i could first walk almost and i retired from senior mens baseball leagues this past year to concentrate on my tennis and also due to the fact i can hardly lift my arm now after pitching, even in relief roles due to rotator cuff problems. im in my 40's now and its not getting any easier.
i now find myself dragging in the final sets against younger guys as my shoulder starts to go dead and i lose my biggest weapon, my serve. they also start playing slow ball with me after the first set when i blow them away hitting hard especially with my forehand. and my arm gets tired hitting back high spinners from the baseline and they all start doing that to me now. im stuck at 4.5 because i cant play that game for 3 sets and my shoulder wont let me keep up my pace on the serve. 5.0 players and above that i play all recognize this and start taking advantage after the first set. im basically gonzalez without his talent level of course.
i have now begun the painful process of looking for slightly lighter rackets (yuk) that still have control and not very powerful. i especially wanted to find one to play doubles with, one that was very manuverable at the net. i dont get to hit that many big strokes in doubles anyway and usually only hit cut backhands so the mass i need for my one hander isnt as important.
what i found with these two finalists really surprised me and i thought you guys and gals might like to hear what i found in case you are looking at either of these rackets.
volkl DNX 9: i demoed the dnx 10 mid and really liked it, i might buy one or trade for one for my new singles racket. i recently switched to an mfils 200 and love it except it gets heavy in the third set of course. the dnx plays lighter and more powerful and i think i could handle it in the 3rd.
i read great things about the 9 and so i tried it this week. this is one i would have never demoed otherwise. too light and stiff. here is what i found. before my doubles match tuesday night i put 3 grams of lead at 3 and 9 and 4 grams in the handle using strips along the grip. this felt pretty good in my hand, not as heavy as my others but still heavy enough to have some mass for returns etc. i hate light spinny rackets and i didnt want to even try it without the lead.
i played the storm in the first set and moved to this one in the 2nd set. we playa round robin so you play 3 sets with a different partner, very hard to win all 3 sets as there is usually one weak link. i had a decent partner for the 2nd and he wanted me to start it off serving. i have a big cut first serve and a crazy kicker for my 2nd, my best weapons.
my observations:
A. the serve:
i serve pretty well with this racket, not as big as with my mfil and not quite as big a kicker as i do with my pure control but somewhere in between the two. it took a while to get into the groove with this. i was a bit late here and a bit early there but i was still getting them in. the racket didnt feel overpowered as i feared in fact i had to start cranking up the racket speed to get the desired result. when i did, i started hitting some bombs, i just had to swing harder than i expected with this lighter racket. i guess i was expecting more of the pure drive type response. i played two complete sets with this racket and doubled faulted twice but never lost serve. i was trying some different types of serves, experimenting, while in the middle of the match so only two double faults was quite good. the feel was a bit stiff but not too stiff, felt very accurate kind of like my old 200g HM. almost felt like like an 18X20 stringbed which was not bad. i would give this a 7.5 out of 10 for serving rackets.
B. ground strokes:
a. forehand: i havent hit with this against some big hitters yet but a couple of the guys i played against can bring it. i have rarely hit as many forehand winners in a doubles match as i did tuesday with this racket. i played backhand all night and when they hit one down the middle to split us i just stepped over and buried my forehand pretty much anywhere i wanted to. i felt like i could swing as hard as i could i it wouldnt leave the court. the lead helped with the stabliity and it created a very hard tight spinning shot that was right on target as to where i was aiming. i could also hit inside out as well and was just pounding it, the other team just shrugged their shoulders after each one. it was really a fun night.
the feel was not the "plush" feeling i get with my dunlops (MW and MFil) it felt a little stiff for my tastes but the result was great. didnt like the handle type that much for my 1 hand topspin backhand but i could modify it i suppose. this really felt like i was hitting an 18X20 stringbed due to the accuracy and slightly stiff feel. it was kind of like a LM radical leaded up, not plush but accurate and the dnx 9 had great spin. not light super spin like my pure control but heavy topspin that spun tight and late. 8.5 out of 10 for forehand, only the kind of stiff feel keeps it from a perfect score.
b. slice backhand: with doubles i mainly only hit slice backhands anyway and with the lead tape this one hit one of the best slice backhands of any racket i have ever played. it hits it deep and low and felt as solid as any racket regardless of the weight. no prostaff ever felt more solid hitting a cut or chop backhand. since i opted to play backhand specifically to test it out i had plenty of chances to return serve with it on this side. all i did but twice was just slice these add court wide serves back and they would come back deep and low and hard right at the feet of the server coming in. they had trouble with it all night. i even hit an outright winner down the line using a cut! 9.5/10!
topspin backhand: here i only rate this racket as average. here is when i really noticed the lack of mass i am used to for my 1HBH topspin. i really need a heavy plough through effect to be able to hit that shot consistantly, in fact a lot of my racket choices revolve around that ability since its my main weakness. maybe a flawed theory but its one i have been using. i didnt really get a great plough through feeling with the dnx 9. it was just okay, in warming up i found myself hitting some long and i had to really whip it through to keep it in deep and that of course reduces the margin of error. didnt try it with a two hander since i dont do those
volleys: this a GREAT volley racket. made very few errors and the racket pretty much puts the ball where you want it. it had enough pop to punch them through for winners yet not too much to lose control. feels solid and stable, the lead really helps here i think. i think this would be an excellent S&V racket despite the specs. 9/10
conclusion: i am going to try two more lighter weight rackets before i buy. the MFil 16X19 2006 model and the MFil 300G. but this racket is right at the top for my new doubles racket. with some lead it is really a terrific racket. the feel is strange, kind of stiff but not too stiff. great plough through but not on all shots. different than any other racket i have played for sure. im going to try it i think tonight in my singles match although my MFil will be crying in my bag. im sure after the first bad shot i will bag it but maybe i wont hit one!