Ivan Lendl Early Composite Racquet

[BorgCash]

Few days ago i noticed in local ads one about Adidas racquet unfamiliar to me. I began to searching and found out that it's a Grand Prix Graphite. I found this thread about it:
https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/adidas-vintage-fiber-racquet.505346/
Inside i found a very interesting picture of young Ivan using probably this Grand Prix Graphite. I was very interested in it 'cause i thought that his first composite racquet was Kneissl White Star Pro.
Today i got this Adidas, the headsize is even smaller than Kneissl, it goes without main grip and has grip
4 3/4, so it will be almost impossible to use it for me. The weight is M. I will post some pictures later.
I continue to search some info about Ivan's early racquet and find several pictures of him using Kneissl racquet looks like WS Pro but in dark blue or black colour with white around the head:
http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-iv...vs-sweden-prague-czechoslovakia-63707270.html
http://www.gettyimages.ae/detail/ne...roland-garros-french-open-picture-id635223103
http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/n...ed-in-action-competing-to-picture-id654832115
http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-iv...vs-sweden-prague-czechoslovakia-63707266.html
From these pictures i understand that he used this "black" Kneissl at least at two tournaments in 1979, Roland Garros in May and in Davis Cup against Sweden in Prague in September.
Can anybody help me with this ''black" Kneissl? Was it test WS Pro or anything else? Also i want to know when Ivan used this old Adidas Grand Prix Graphite.
Thank you.

 

[Sanglier]

Interesting question! My earliest memory of Lendl's stick was also the White Star, which he began using in 1979 (there is a youtube video purportedly showing him playing with the White Star Pro in 1978, but the footage is actually from 1980). I have no idea what he used when he was a junior (because I was too young then to pay any attention to such things), but the Adidas Grand Prix models had been around since 1977, and the Kneissl World Star Pro since 1978 (it may have been marketed as a Euro-only model called "World Cup" a year earlier, but I have never seen one of these to verify that they are in fact the same racquet), so it is certainly conceivable that Lendl would have wielded one or both of these on his way to the top. However, this black frame with the white grommet strip seen in your links doesn't look like a World Star Pro to me, because without exception, all Cup Star/World Star models and their many OEM derivatives sported individual grommets. Moreover, the head of this mystery frame looks a bit larger than that of the Cup Star/World Star series, at least in these photos. It also seems faintly egg-shaped, rather than purely ovoid. Lastly, the hexagonal butt cap visible in the third linked photo is decidedly non-standard for a Kneissl product from that period; which makes the identification of this frame even more difficult.

I came across another photo from the same game/tournament as what is annotated in two of your links, but this one is attributed to the 1978 French Open; which makes more sense to me:

If I were to hazard a guess, I would say that this black frame was a prototype of some sort, which Lendl used during 1978 (after toying with the Grand Prix the year before?). This would then beg the question: How often does a racquet company put its most advanced test product in the hands of a junior, even if the latter was the best in the world? Or was it THAT obvious that Lendl was going to be a marketable star long before he turned pro?

I wonder if Ivan himself remembers clearly what he used back then. He needs to write an autobiography like everyone else when he still can!

 

[BorgCash]

Thank you for reply.
Yes, i think that it was some kind of prototype or test model. We don't know the real situation, but probably Kneissl didn't risk to give their test model to junior, even top one.
I'm not sure that Ivan remember this racquet situation. Many top players don't know much about racquets they play with. Though knowin' Ivan's serious and meticulous training way may be he knows more about his personal racquets than average top pro.

 

[flanker2000fr]

That's a very interesting thread.

In any case, the Adidas you posted above has markings "made in austria" so it would have been manufactured by Kneissl. It is probably a variation on the World Star Pro, with a few minor variations to distinguish it from Kneissl's branded frames. It is conceivable that Lendl would have used one or the other as they were in the process of developing what was to become the White Star (and early GTX Pro) line.

Agree with Sanglier that in the following pictures this racquet with the white grommet strip looks to have an ovoid head shape. So probably an early prototype of the White Star Pro.

 

[BorgCash]

Agree with you, probably it was that way. Just never heared about it before. I always thought that after wood racquet he straight went to White Star Pro.

 

[Tony Gareth]

Few days ago i noticed in local ads one about Adidas racquet unfamiliar to me. I began to searching and found out that it's a Grand Prix Graphite. I found this thread about it:
https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/adidas-vintage-fiber-racquet.505346/
Inside i found a very interesting picture of young Ivan using probably this Grand Prix Graphite. I was very interested in it 'cause i thought that his first composite racquet was Kneissl White Star Pro.
Today i got this Adidas, the headsize is even smaller than Kneissl, it goes without main grip and has grip
4 3/4, so it will be almost impossible to use it for me. The weight is M. I will post some pictures later.
I continue to search some info about Ivan's early racquet and find several pictures of him using Kneissl racquet looks like WS Pro but in dark blue or black colour with white around the head:
http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-iv...vs-sweden-prague-czechoslovakia-63707270.html
http://www.gettyimages.ae/detail/ne...roland-garros-french-open-picture-id635223103
http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/n...ed-in-action-competing-to-picture-id654832115
http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-iv...vs-sweden-prague-czechoslovakia-63707266.html
From these pictures i understand that he used this "black" Kneissl at least at two tournaments in 1979, Roland Garros in May and in Davis Cup against Sweden in Prague in September.
Can anybody help me with this ''black" Kneissl? Was it test WS Pro or anything else? Also i want to know when Ivan used this old Adidas Grand Prix Graphite.
Thank you.

I’ve seen one of his Adidas rackets that looked like this. Boron? Was supposed to be just like the rackets he’s always used just a darker color? Not the larger head sized one (which I want one to play with) but the small one

 

[Tony Gareth]

What about the dark color Adidas Lendl that says Boron on the top? Supposedly it’s just like the rackets he’s always played with (small head)

 

[BorgCash]

I’ve seen one of his Adidas rackets that looked like this. Boron? Was supposed to be just like the rackets he’s always used just a darker color? Not the larger head sized one (which I want one to play with) but the small one

Do you have a picture of Ivan playing with this Boron? racquet? Boron was a dark red colour, as I know Lendl never played with it. Adidas made many different racquets with Lendl name or/and signature on it, but Ivan never used them.

 

[proracketeer]

https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/adidas-vintage-fiber-racquet.505346/

 

[Tony Gareth]

I don’t have pic of him using it