What are you talking about? If you can play the IG Prestige MP, how could you say such thing about the Graphene Prestige (GP) MP? The stiffness of the GP MP is between the Utek Prestige MP and the Utek IG Prestige MP. I moved from IG Prestige MP to GP MP because mainly 2 things: GP has more power and feels much better in the arms. I started using Tecnifibre Pro Black Code 17g since i switched to Head Utek Prestige MP and i kept using the same string with the same tensions from Utek Prestige MP to IG Prestige MP to GP MP: main 55 lbs vs cross 53 lbs, and the GP MP has the amazing feels from hitting at the baseline. If you said the IG played better then then GP, i am sure you missed the stiffest Utek Prestige MP. BTW, have you hit with the I Prestige MP? i mean the intelligent one. This GP MP is very closed to the legend I Prestige MP. The GP MP is the best Head Prestige MP since the I Prestige MP. If anyone says the GP MP is different from the Prestige MP lines, you don't need to hear it. Remember the string 18x20 racquets can perform best with 17g or 18g strings. Plenty of great Poly strings out there to try. 1 more thing that i've learnt from my IG Prestige MP: put 6 to 8g totally at 2 & 10 on the IG Prestige MP and it can perform closed to GP MP. Remember demo and try the racquets you really like from paint job to specs but don't try to like the racquets from other opinions. Also always demo them first before buying. Peace.
I tried it and hated it.
Small sweetspot, no feel and stiff. I am not the only one who felt this way, so don't even try to say that I don't know what I'm talking about. I prefer flexy sticks and the GP MP is not flexy feeling. vsbabolat put it nicely by saying that it felt brassy.
I am well aware that 18x20 racquets should be played with thin strings, but that did not help. With the GP MP, I was trying to fix faults in the racquet (with string choice and lead customizations) in order to make it feel right and playable for me, whereas with the IGP MP I was searching for setups to further improve its great attributes. I was never going to feel completely confident with the GP MP and it felt like I was trying to force myself to like the racquet - not good.
The YTP MP also was brassy feeling outside the sweetspot, but the GP MP is much more so. The lighter weight along with the more polarized weight distribution does not do well in the racquet. The GP MP is the first Prestige MP I have played to date from which I got slight elbow twinges.
The GP MP does have more power, but you will never convince me that it feels better in hand than the IGP MP. The added power makes it easier to play the racquet from the baseline, but the lack of feel was so off putting for me that I could not handle it. It is the same reason as to why I switched away from tweeners (APD) a few years ago - I hate hollow feeling racquets and I play tennis for fun more than anything else.
By the way, have you played with the true legend known as the Prestige Classic/Pro Tour 630? THAT is a legend and one of the most popular frames on the Pro Tour. Its buttery feel along with good power and great control made kit an all courters dream. What the GP MP lacks for me, which is why I do NOT consider it a Prestige, is its trademark feel. Even in the (small) sweetspot, the racquet does not feel like a Prestige.
