Is it time for Djokovic to change to a more powerful racquet?

[socallefty]

It seems like Djokovic is struggling to win rallies against a lot of players these days. His fans say that it is lack of motivation and when he wants to play seriously, he will be fine. But then he has been knocked out by leg/knee injuries in 2 out of the last 4 Slams when he tried to run around and play defense more intensely. Should he make life easier for himself and his aging legs by going to a bigger head size than his current 95 sq inches and possibly a thicker beam?

Many players have complained that the balls become slower in 4-5 games instead of lasting for the 9 games that the pros play with them. So some of the younger guys are tweaking string jobs and changing racquet models to try and inject more pace into their games. Should Djokovic also experiment?

GOAT candidates in the past like Sampras and Federer have said late in their careers or after retirement that they wish they had adapted to newer equipment (poly for Sampras, more powerful, bigger racquet for Federer) sooner. If Djokovic doesn’t get Slam results this year, he will likely retire anyway. Should he try a radical equipment change in the limited time he has left?

He will lose precision if he moves to a more powerful racquet. But he longer seems to practice enough to hit confidently close to the lines like he used to anyway and he either makes many unforced errors when he does that or plays to more conservative targets these days especially when trying to survive early rounds. If he is choosing more conservative targets, then he might as well play with a more powerful racquet. What do you guys think?

Of course if he doesn’t want to practice much or play too many smaller tournaments to get ready for Slams, it is a moot point anyway.

 

[dr. godmode]

It would be pretty hilarious if he actually switched to a Speed Pro

 

[socallefty]

It would be pretty hilarious if he actually switched to a Speed Pro

That would be comedy gold!

 

[nolefam_2024]

I keep thinking the same. What the heck is he waiting for and why bring Murray in if he is not changing rackets and setups?

Its simple. New gen don't care for precision, Nole has to match fire with fire.

 

[johnmccabe]

Might as well try a blacked out aero 98, which seems to have some one-time magic

 

[Guru Apu]

not even pure drive will make up for the old legs, young padawani!

djokovic he need much more than the new racquet. maybe time machine?

 

[AndrewUtz]

18x19 EZONE 100 INCOMING THANK YOU SIR ANDY

 

[nolefam_2024]

18x19 EZONE 100 INCOMING THANK YOU SIR ANDY

That's why Andy is here.

 

[aaron_h27]

He could try taking his current racket and making it a 16x19. But it wouldn't hurt to try something more powerful

 

[Rosstour]

Issue is his game is built around the racquet he uses. Fedal used highly polarized setups to complement their wickedly whippy strokes, whereas Djoko uses a less polarized setup more suited to his game of dominating the width of the court and deflecting everything back with depth.

It's not a bad idea but it may not pay the same dividends for him that it did for other players

 

[Grafil Injection]

Murray didn't exactly benefit from the granny stick with 20g of lead. Djok should just take a couple of grams out of the headguard, and lower the SW by 6-7pts.

 

[jmacdaununder2]

It would be pretty hilarious if he actually switched to a Speed Pro

Gold, pure gold!!

 

[Subway Tennis]

His current setup doesn’t seem to be robbing him of power. Djokovic can still ball bash with anyone. AO proved that.

The biggest thing missing at Indian Wells (how much we want to read into this result is debatable given that he hasn’t prioritised this event for nearly a decade) was his precision and shot tolerance (normally a hallmark of his game). A more powerful racquet with a higher or less predictable launch angle won’t help there.

Djokovic is a master of the details and his equipment seems perfectly suited to his playing style. The issue at the moment seems more related to his footwork, movement and commitment to practice lessening.

 

[onehandbh]

When your speed slow, switch to Speed Pro.

 

[BauerAlmeida]

It's not an easy thing to do. It took Federer some time to adjust and he really mastered it when he had 6 months off.

 

[gino]

Guy won the the Olympics and made a Wimbledon final on a bum knee. If he needed the help from the stick, he’d have done it already. I think he just doesn’t care that much about winning tennis matches anymore, which makes sense when you beat the proverbial game

 

[socallefty]

Here is a racquet he can try - a racquet with Legend in the name!

 

[aus89]

Should switch to Agassi’s OS radical

 

[BenBen]

H22 Wilson, run it back, 2008 Aussie fire

 

[Lavs]

Wait for a new thread - Djokovic with the blackout racket.

 

[gino]

H22 Wilson, run it back, 2008 Aussie fire

i wonder if murray is in his ear about the ezone, but the h22 full circle would be hilarious

FWIW i dont think its much more forgiving than the PT346, but it would be funny

 

[Alexh22]

He might try an actual speed with boom pj to really turn things around.

 

[veelium]

His current setup doesn’t seem to be robbing him of power. Djokovic can still ball bash with anyone. AO proved that.

The biggest thing missing at Indian Wells (how much we want to read into this result is debatable given that he hasn’t prioritised this event for nearly a decade) was his precision and shot tolerance (normally a hallmark of his game). A more powerful racquet with a higher or less predictable launch angle won’t help there.

Djokovic is a master of the details and his equipment seems perfectly suited to his playing style. The issue at the moment seems more related to his footwork, movement and commitment to practice lessening.

Just the usual chill mode until the FO but with a bit more injuries.

 

[d-quik]

When I think of GOAT returners (Connors, Agassi, Hewitt, Djoko, Murray) they all use pretty underpowered frames to help with the absorption of the incoming pace so no, I dont think it would be a great idea as it is a detriment to a very main part of his game.

 

[socallefty]

When I think of GOAT returners (Connors, Agassi, Hewitt, Djoko, Murray) they all use pretty underpowered frames to help with the absorption of the incoming pace so no, I dont think it would be a great idea as it is a detriment to a very main part of his game.

Everyone played with what we would call underpowered frames till about 10-15 years ago. In the last 12 months, the top returners are ADM, Alcaraz, Paul and Sinner.

 

[d-quik]

Everyone played with what we would call underpowered frames till about 10-15 years ago. In the last 12 months, the top returners are ADM, Alcaraz, Paul and Sinner.

Wouldnt call them "GOAT returners" yet though but aren't their racquets all pretty underpowered as well though?

 

[HBK4life]

I have a Wilson Profile 3.0 aire shell I can sell him.

 

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

He probably needs more meniscus instead.

 

[socallefty]

Wouldnt call them "GOAT returners" yet though but aren't their racquets all pretty underpowered as well though?

Speed, Aero VS, Blade and VCore 98 - I would call only the Blade as maybe low-powered. Compared to Djokovic‘s racquet, none of them are under-powered.

 

[ChrisJR3264]

Murray didn't exactly benefit from the granny stick with 20g of lead. Djok should just take a couple of grams out of the headguard, and lower the SW by 6-7pts.

No. He actually was making a slew of errors when I watched his match at the French.

It was just hilarious seeing all that lead.

 

[jimmy8]

It seems like Djokovic is struggling to win rallies against a lot of players these days. His fans say that it is lack of motivation and when he wants to play seriously, he will be fine. But then he has been knocked out by leg/knee injuries in 2 out of the last 4 Slams when he tried to run around and play defense more intensely. Should he make life easier for himself and his aging legs by going to a bigger head size than his current 95 sq inches and possibly a thicker beam?

Many players have complained that the balls become slower in 4-5 games instead of lasting for the 9 games that the pros play with them. So some of the younger guys are tweaking string jobs and changing racquet models to try and inject more pace into their games. Should Djokovic also experiment?

GOAT candidates in the past like Sampras and Federer have said late in their careers or after retirement that they wish they had adapted to newer equipment (poly for Sampras, more powerful, bigger racquet for Federer) sooner. If Djokovic doesn’t get Slam results this year, he will likely retire anyway. Should he try a radical equipment change in the limited time he has left?

He will lose precision if he moves to a more powerful racquet. But he longer seems to practice enough to hit confidently close to the lines like he used to anyway and he either makes many unforced errors when he does that or plays to more conservative targets these days especially when trying to survive early rounds. If he is choosing more conservative targets, then he might as well play with a more powerful racquet. What do you guys think?

Of course if he doesn’t want to practice much or play too many smaller tournaments to get ready for Slams, it is a moot point anyway.

If he switches to a more powerful racket, he will just switch back to what he has now.

 

[onehandbh]

Speed, Aero VS, Blade and VCore 98 - I would call only the Blade as maybe low-powered. Compared to Djokovic‘s racquet, none of them are under-powered.

If you have tried it, how does the new or previous version of the vcore 95 compare to the vcore 98?

My last vcore 95D's crack near the throat is slowly getting bigger and I'm looking for a replacement.

Ben using a blade pro (16x19 and 18x20) the last couple years, but recently switched back to the 95D a couple months ago bc I just play better with it.

 

[ChrisJR3264]

Head instinct MP

 

[socallefty]

If you have tried it, how does the new or previous version of the vcore 95 compare to the vcore 98?

I have not tried it.

 

[d-quik]

Speed, Aero VS, Blade and VCore 98 - I would call only the Blade as maybe low-powered. Compared to Djokovic‘s racquet, none of them are under-powered.

All those minus the Aero are pretty flexible at least though right? And the Aero is pretty underweighted so it can't be THAT powerful. Instead of comparing them to Djoko's racquet, you can compare it to the Pure Drive and call them underpowered.

The best user of an overpowered racquet who also returns well (but not GOAT returning) would probably be Nadal and his ridiculous 360+SW racquet but he often accomplishes this by standing very far back. Connor's bright yellow Estusa racquet would also be probably considered high powered but I don't actually know anything about that racquet's specs.

Regardless though, I still think that increasing racquet power would hurt Djoko's returns. I am also unsure if the losses in the return department is greater or lesser than the gains in power he makes during rally shots but if I would to guess, it would probably be greater.

 

[socallefty]

Regardless though, I still think that increasing racquet power would hurt Djoko's returns.

At least move to a 98 sq inch with a bigger sweet spot as he doesn’t seem as precise as he used to be and his footwork is late often - old men generally move to bigger heads.

 

[tennisintheeighties]

Only one racket can save old mens
=> pa98

 

[MeatTornado]

I keep thinking the same. What the heck is he waiting for and why bring Murray in if he is not changing rackets and setups?

Murray? The same guy who refused to up the power in his own game when he couldn't even move anymore? I wouldn't hold your breath on a major change coming from the Muzziah.

 

[vsbabolat]

Murray? The same guy who refused to up the power in his own game when he couldn't even move anymore? I wouldn't hold your breath on a major change coming from the Muzziah.

He did change to Ezone 100 at the end and it didn’t make a difference

 

[bogdan101]

He did change to Ezone 100 at the end and it didn’t make a difference

Too late.

 

[vsbabolat]

Too late.

No racket can make-up for a bad hip and a loss of 2 steps. The most important thing in tennis is footwork and being in the right position to hit the ball. The racket is tool

 

[DJ-]

Novak does not need to change anything that drastic, he has achieved everything he wanted to and more to get him to his current GOAT position. If he wanted to, he would have years ago, instead he did subtle yet affective changes which elevated his game, different string pattern, less SW, and slightly extended in length.

 

[bogdan101]

No racket can make-up for a bad hip and a loss of 2 steps. The most important thing in tennis is footwork and being in the right position to hit the ball. The racket is tool

Yep, that's why I said too late, but all else being equal, the racquet can be the difference maker.

 

[Nostradamus]

It seems like Djokovic is struggling to win rallies against a lot of players these days. His fans say that it is lack of motivation and when he wants to play seriously, he will be fine. But then he has been knocked out by leg/knee injuries in 2 out of the last 4 Slams when he tried to run around and play defense more intensely. Should he make life easier for himself and his aging legs by going to a bigger head size than his current 95 sq inches and possibly a thicker beam?

Many players have complained that the balls become slower in 4-5 games instead of lasting for the 9 games that the pros play with them. So some of the younger guys are tweaking string jobs and changing racquet models to try and inject more pace into their games. Should Djokovic also experiment?

GOAT candidates in the past like Sampras and Federer have said late in their careers or after retirement that they wish they had adapted to newer equipment (poly for Sampras, more powerful, bigger racquet for Federer) sooner. If Djokovic doesn’t get Slam results this year, he will likely retire anyway. Should he try a radical equipment change in the limited time he has left?

He will lose precision if he moves to a more powerful racquet. But he longer seems to practice enough to hit confidently close to the lines like he used to anyway and he either makes many unforced errors when he does that or plays to more conservative targets these days especially when trying to survive early rounds. If he is choosing more conservative targets, then he might as well play with a more powerful racquet. What do you guys think?

Of course if he doesn’t want to practice much or play too many smaller tournaments to get ready for Slams, it is a moot point anyway.

Head Extreme would be perfect for him, extended, of course

 

[Bill Lobsalot]

He could sell a bunch of Gamma Big Bubbas.

 

[ruripi]

No racket can make-up for a bad hip and a loss of 2 steps. The most important thing in tennis is footwork and being in the right position to hit the ball. The racket is tool

Totally agree, and what I think Djokovic's real problem is slowed down than his prime time, and it makes his net game worse than his younger time.
With slowed down movement, clearly his net game plan is not great as old Federer's one, and additionally his volley doesn't have accuracy like Rafa, so that's why he struggles when he cannot control game on the baseline.
2024 Wimbledon final, 2025 Indian wells vs Botic is good example of this story I think. and power racket will not help to solve this problem.

 

[nolefam_2024]

Totally agree, and what I think Djokovic's real problem is slowed down than his prime time, and it makes his net game worse than his younger time.
With slowed down movement, clearly his net game plan is not great as old Federer's one, and additionally his volley doesn't have accuracy like Rafa, so that's why he struggles when he cannot control game on the baseline.
2024 Wimbledon final, 2025 Indian wells vs Botic is good example of this story I think. and power racket will not help to solve this problem.

Backhand. His backhand can be given more power with new racket.

 

[TennisHound]

It seems like Djokovic is struggling to win rallies against a lot of players these days. His fans say that it is lack of motivation and when he wants to play seriously, he will be fine. But then he has been knocked out by leg/knee injuries in 2 out of the last 4 Slams when he tried to run around and play defense more intensely. Should he make life easier for himself and his aging legs by going to a bigger head size than his current 95 sq inches and possibly a thicker beam?

Many players have complained that the balls become slower in 4-5 games instead of lasting for the 9 games that the pros play with them. So some of the younger guys are tweaking string jobs and changing racquet models to try and inject more pace into their games. Should Djokovic also experiment?

GOAT candidates in the past like Sampras and Federer have said late in their careers or after retirement that they wish they had adapted to newer equipment (poly for Sampras, more powerful, bigger racquet for Federer) sooner. If Djokovic doesn’t get Slam results this year, he will likely retire anyway. Should he try a radical equipment change in the limited time he has left?

He will lose precision if he moves to a more powerful racquet. But he longer seems to practice enough to hit confidently close to the lines like he used to anyway and he either makes many unforced errors when he does that or plays to more conservative targets these days especially when trying to survive early rounds. If he is choosing more conservative targets, then he might as well play with a more powerful racquet. What do you guys think?

Of course if he doesn’t want to practice much or play too many smaller tournaments to get ready for Slams, it is a moot point anyway.

Is it time for Head to make a 98” Speed Pro?

 

[AndrewUtz]

Is it time for Head to make a 98” Speed Pro?

i’ve said i think in another thread or two that Head should make the speed pro basically the same 23mm beam racquet but 98” and 18x19. Could be a very good racquet to release right now to compete with the new tfight 305S. Seems to me that the speed mp has been the one garnering most of the customer base over the last couple years over the pro, I could be wrong. A 98” 18x19 speed might actually convince me to get one, and i think many others too. Having only 100”s in a line limit your market, I think they realized this with the gravity.

 

[Crozzer95]

As a side note. Novak has recently dropped his tension a few Kg