Next session, this time with
Pure Drive FHU/PLE at 26/25kg
98L FHU/PLE at 22/21kg
98L BlackKnight/PLE 22/21kg
98L Atomos/PLE
and indoors(!), on a faster surface.
Started with the Pure Drive and won a lot of free points just with my serve which was noticeably more powerful than with the Blade. Serving is definitely a lot of fun with the PD.
And the extra power is more than helpful on defense when I have to reach out wide and the ball would normally land just behind the net but in this case still has good depth.
So from the baseline I had good depth but not enough consistency on my attacking game. If I won baseline rallies then mainly because I hit such a weird and high topspin stroke that my opponent was irritated just by the way the ball bounced. So the PD brings "spin chaos" to the baseline rally table, but I'm still not able to play a consistent game with it. That's why I switched to the 98L FHU/PLE at 1:3 and quickly got back to 3:3. But then I could observe how I'm getting pushed back. I had more than enough consistency and was able to hit 90% of the balls back into the opponent's field but my balls didn't have enough power - so I was more and more pushed back into defense. So my only chance with the 98L was to attack as quickly as possible and don't make any unforced errors. But the risk often was too high and I was then again pushed back into defense.
I then also mixed in the Atomos/PLE and BlackKnight/PLE frames. BlackKnight is still too stiff for my taste although it's a weird kind of stiffness, because it's still quite a powerful string in my opinion. Powerful but stiff - reminds me a bit of Hyper G (Soft) but Hyper G has better spin in my opinion. So unfortunately Black Knight probably won't become my best friend. Although I'm certainly able to hit consistently with it, the comfort/control ratio is not for me.
Atomos feels noticeably softer than BlackKnight or in other words "more muted". What I call unpleasant vibration can be "good feel" for other players, I suppose. Anyway, Atomos gave a well rounded performance as well, like an in-between string between FHU or PLE on one side and BlackKnight or TourBite on the other side of the spectrum. But in comparison to FHU/PLE the Atomos/PLE hybrid didn't offer enough better performance to justify the reduced comfort in comparison to FHU/PLE. FHU also feels spinnier than Atomos. Atomos to me feels like a good string for a player like Tsitsipas. Relatively flat aggressive strokes, looking for a lot of control, no arm issues or sensitivity.
Personally I would rank the stiffness of the strings I tested recently the following (top being the stiffest):
- TourBite
- HyperG, BlackKnight
- HyperG Soft, Atomos
- Focus Hex Ultra, Swift
- Pro Line Evolution
I mean when comparing it to Hyper G Soft, Atomos could be a bit more comfortable and a bit more controlled.
Next test will be stringing PD maybe with a full bed of FHU or another stiffer string at a lower tension. Reminds me a lot of my experiments with the Clash, actually. Only that the PD is actually(!) more comfortable than the Clashes so far. But I also wasn't as dialed in with my strings back then and modified the swing- and static weight to unreasonable levels partly.
And then I would try stringing FHU/PLE even a bit lower on the 98L to hopefully get a bit of more free depth / power. 22/21kg work really well so far, indoors as well as outdoors, so giving up a bit more control would be ok if I can possibly get out of the defensive corner.
Apart from matchplay, during the warmup the PD worked nicely and my hitting partner also recognized that I had good depth and power in my strokes. And again I noticed how natural the PD swings, you can watch the "out swing above the left shoulder" also in Tennisnerd's review:
The smooth way the hoop loops behind his left shoulder after hitting a forehand is exactly what happens to me when swinging the PD. So something about the shape of this frame in combination with its thickness and heft flows very smoothly and that's also why I'm willing to dive deeper into this racquet. It makes me swing in a smooth way which other frames don't. And if I compare the Nerd's review videos it's quite comparable for him, as well. When he swings the Blade 98 he doesn't nearly "out swing" as smoothly as he does in this Pure Drive review.