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

I find myself in the middle here. The main reason I suspect a more powerful frame may help him is that he could drop the specs a bit while having similar-ish shot results. With the loss of a step or two thanks to father time, a more manoeuvrable racquet may help him with timing issues, which I believe is what makes him spray shots at times/ have consistency issues with his performances. But yeah it’ll only change things at the margin, whether it’s enough to change results meaningfully for him god only knows.
 
Rosstour said:
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
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What? Nadal used an extremely polarized setup, but Federer used a depolarized setup.

djokovic uses a polarized setup, just not as extreme as Nadal.
 
deleted. I did not see the post directly above mine before posting, and it made my comment about federer having the least polarized setup of the three redundant.
 
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dr325i said:
Novak has tested (back a few years back) the PT284.1, the 98 sq in version of the PT346.1 and did not like it and went back to his old setup.
I doubt he will experiment with anything else at this point.
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Did they create this mold just for him to try, or is this one that lived somewhere else in the retail world? I know molds are expensive for a one off, but still curious..
 
dr325i said:
Novak has tested (back a few years back) the PT284.1, the 98 sq in version of the PT346.1 and did not like it and went back to his old setup.
I doubt he will experiment with anything else at this point.
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You are probably right. But when he wasn’t getting his usual results in 2017-2018, he was open to changes in his racquet and I believe that is when he made tweaks to his racquet. Now he has had a 15 month time frame in which he has won 1 title at the Olympics and is increasingly crashing out in early rounds of tournaments. He has a new coach in Andy Murray who himself tried a new racquet just before he retired. Who knows, maybe the time is right for him to experiment.

Otherwise, his next new racquet might be a pickleball paddle!:D
 
socallefty said:
You are probably right. But when he wasn’t getting his usual results in 2017-2018, he was open to changes in his racquet and I believe that is when he made tweaks to his racquet. Now he has had a 15 month time frame in which he has won 1 title at the Olympics and is increasingly crashing out in early rounds of tournaments. He has a new coach in Andy Murray who himself tried a new racquet just before he retired. Who knows, maybe the time is right for him to experiment.

Otherwise, his next new racquet might be a pickleball paddle!:D
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As discussed above - it is not the racket. He can play with whatever, not going to help unless he practices, prepares for the tournament and gets into competitive physical fitness
 
dr325i said:
As discussed above - it is not the racket. He can play with whatever, not going to help unless he practices, prepares for the tournament and gets into competitive physical fitness
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Agreed. I started a thread recently wondering whether he is practicing enough. His performance in the first and second matches of his last few tournaments are way below his usual level and one can’t help wondering about that.
 
socallefty said:
Agreed. I started a thread recently wondering whether he is practicing enough. His performance in the first and second matches of his last few tournaments are way below his usual level and one can’t help wondering about that.
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I was in Belgrade last week and hit with his former coach, and former sparring partner (former #210). And we all agreed - he has not practiced at all after the AO
 
dr325i said:
I was in Belgrade last week and hit with his former coach, and former sparring partner (former #210). And we all agreed - he has not practiced at all after the AO
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I suspect he didn’t practice before the USO either after he won the Olympics. A long term observer can clearly see the lower pace and more conservative targets he aims for when he doesn’t practice. His serve % also goes down as does his accuracy and ability to hit big serves when needed.
 
Djokovic changed his racquet spec before Miami. Lower sw, higher handle-hoop mass ratio.

Not sure it will be very good on clay, but might help him hold serve better on grass, which is probably the goal.
 
travlerajm said:
Djokovic changed his racquet spec before Miami. Lower sw, higher handle-hoop mass ratio.

Not sure it will be very good on clay, but might help him hold serve better on grass, which is probably the goal.
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just lead placement change? appreciate any info you have
 
Grafil Injection said:
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.
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Also change to a slightly longer version 27.25 to 27.5 by adding length to the handle might be the way to get the swing weight down by 6--7 points without changing the rest and gives him some help with the racquet being longer for Indian Wells with the higher bounce/play with a small by modern standards 95 square inch model by giving length for him to reach more just have 2 models like this for him set up the same and rest in his style .

I use an odd older 96 square inch 25 inch long Jr aluminum model the Pro Kennex Power Ace Pro Jr both the red & blue Taiwan model (see my posting picture) or the black & yellow China and If I need to redo the handle grip in any way, I am looking at buying that specific model of extender for my racquets that can give up to 0.25 inch more because I tend to grip higher up on the racquet just above the flare out for a proper 25 inch grip so the flare out knob part is not in my hands when gripping the racquet but first weigh the part so I can add weight to the head as I like how they are in both versions after modifying the older red & blue with some Rustoleum black spray on rubber at the head hoop top originally for protection as well as fixing the balance point so both versions are balanced about the same. The yellow & black use a matt enamel that is more durable then the wrap on the red & blue but also the grip is slightly smaller 4 inch/L0 for the yellow & black but a 4.25 inch/L2 grip for the other red & blue so the red & blue are more headlight due to the grip.
 
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flex point layup without the holes disguised in a speed paintjob. Why head why ! Why don’t you sell a racquet he never touched and market as his !
 
Alexh22 said:
flex point layup without the holes disguised in a speed paintjob. Why head why ! Why don’t you sell a racquet he never touched and market as his !
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1) it has nothing to do with the FXP layup.
2) Your whining is getting old
3) if you are soooooo concerned, why don’t you whine about every other company doing similar things?
 
dr325i said:
1) it has nothing to do with the FXP layup.
2) Your whining is getting old
3) if you are soooooo concerned, why don’t you whine about every other company doing similar things?
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I can respect and understand why head would never release the Djoko pro stock racket. For starters, I don’t think the nadal origin sold very well , and I can’t seem to think how players on the rec side, even advanced players, are buying rackets stock 320 grams or higher.

What I was hoping head did was release the blackout Djoko paint job in an 18x19 instead of another 18x20 mirroring the regular pro Aux 2.0 paint job.
 
ChrisJR3264 said:
I can respect and understand why head would never release the Djoko pro stock racket. For starters, I don’t think the nadal origin sold very well , and I can’t seem to think how players on the rec side, even advanced players, are buying rackets stock 320 grams or higher.

What I was hoping head did was release the blackout Djoko paint job in an 18x19 instead of another 18x20 mirroring the regular pro Aux 2.0 paint job.
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But the Origin is NOT what Rafa used. It may be close to his spec, but the racket is not really what he used. Why didn't Bab release exactly what Rafa used?
You are right -- it is all about business. A group of people on this board would buy a few, but the market would be limited, much more than the best selling Speed line today.
We all cried about the PT630 re-release. They did it. and it was not a slam dunk. And the PT2.0 is an awesome frame.
 
dr325i said:
But the Origin is NOT what Rafa used. It may be close to his spec, but the racket is not really what he used. Why didn't Bab release exactly what Rafa used?
You are right -- it is all about business. A group of people on this board would buy a few, but the market would be limited, much more than the best selling Speed line today.
We all cried about the PT630 re-release. They did it. and it was not a slam dunk. And the PT2.0 is an awesome frame.
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What's your opinion on head changing the speed pro to 98 18x19 and keeping everything else the same (23mm beam, similar layup). I've played with the new tfight and I really think head could do a great job at competing with this frame if they wanted to. Maybe the speed pro is already doing extremely well but I typically only see the MP at my club and this could be a way to get more interested in the pro.
 
I hear he's already been testing a racquet.
PT346.1PA98

So that's a Pure Aero 98 mold with a PT layup but made to look like a Ti Radical (don't ask me how they did it.) Importantly, we can't forget the extended grommet channels which are the primary key to djokos success as a player.
 
AndrewUtz said:
What's your opinion on head changing the speed pro to 98 18x19 and keeping everything else the same (23mm beam, similar layup). I've played with the new tfight and I really think head could do a great job at competing with this frame if they wanted to. Maybe the speed pro is already doing extremely well but I typically only see the MP at my club and this could be a way to get more interested in the pro.
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Pro is not going to change.
I tested the Tfight 305s 18x19 and this must be the most overhyped frame of all times....along with the sky-blue ezone...
 
dr325i said:
Pro is not going to change.
I tested the Tfight 305s 18x19 and this must be the most overhyped frame of all times....along with the sky-blue ezone...
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i quite enjoyed the the new tfight. different strokes for different folks I guess. Like I said, maybe I'm wrong, but I can't imagine that there wouldn't be a want for it. New Ezone I was not a fan of either though.
 
dr325i said:
But the Origin is NOT what Rafa used. It may be close to his spec, but the racket is not really what he used. Why didn't Bab release exactly what Rafa used?
You are right -- it is all about business. A group of people on this board would buy a few, but the market would be limited, much more than the best selling Speed line today.
We all cried about the PT630 re-release. They did it. and it was not a slam dunk. And the PT2.0 is an awesome frame.
Click to expand...
That’s what I meant.
We all know that’s not exactly what Rafa used. But the specs 318 unstrung at 370 SW , people aren’t switching to it.

I’m actually interested to see how sales are on the RF01. While “easier” to use vs. the 340 unstrung, I can’t really see most players buying this frame in sets of 3-4 to use consistently.

And I have no idea what a PT630 is. Lol nor do I recall it ever being released.
 
ChrisJR3264 said:
That’s what I meant.
We all know that’s not exactly what Rafa used. But the specs 318 unstrung at 370 SW , people aren’t switching to it.

I’m actually interested to see how sales are on the RF01. While “easier” to use vs. the 340 unstrung, I can’t really see most players buying this frame in sets of 3-4 to use consistently.

And I have no idea what a PT630 is. Lol nor do I recall it ever being released.
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pt 2.0 is a great frame. definitely recommend picking one up. the layup is just sweet.
 
At this point Novak should pick the best racquet for serving. His serve is the most important shot that could shorten the points and prolong his career.
 
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