xFullCourtTenniSx
Hall of Fame
^^^^
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=295914&page=4
According to some it's an old Rad Tour, or a PT630, or an LM Rad Tour, etc. I now agree with vsbabolat in the thread ^ that it's probably a modern Rad mold with obviously his own lay up, customization specs, etc... as you can see, this has been discussed at great length.
The thing I love and really gets me (and to some extent I would like to mimic it), is his frame hits a massive sledgehammer-hard ball and yet with its supposed 51 stiffness RA feels like a fluffy pillow!
R.
Hmmm... Why not play with a sledgehammer? :twisted:
Hmmm... I would say to generate that kind of ball, you would need a great, big swing as well as a lot of weight in the head. Seeing that swingweight of his, he must have quite a bit of lead around the top of the hoop, and some at 3&9 for whatever else is needed to maintain stability. After that, he probably adds some counterbalance around the top of the grip to get that balance. I really doubt it's that headlight though. I once heard it's only a few points headlight.
Then again, my Yonex racket is very close to those specs with an overgrip (and Djokovic uses 2). I don't think I generate anything close to a sledge hammer ball, but I do get insane amounts of spin and therefore depth control.
You'd need a pretty light racket with a moderately headlight balance to recreate a racket with those specs. (I used a Yonex RDS 003) The problem is that you'd probably create a very spinny ball as opposed to a "sledgehammer" shot. Though with the right technique, I suppose you could create a sledgehammer shot, but that requires the power of a pro, a tight tension, and a shot that only uses moderate topspin. Djokovic actually falls under all 3 categories. Haha. Also, his using natural gut in the mains could account for some of it, since that generates crazy pop when you really take a cut at the ball. Also, he has a poly in the crosses at a high tension for control. If it were Federer using Djokovic's racket, he'd probably throw out crazy spins like Nadal.
So to generate a ball like Djokovic, you need a rather heavily polarized racket (using a light flexible racket as a base) with some lead at 3&9 for stability, string it up at high tensions with a good poly in the crosses and natural gut in the mains, then take a massive rip at the ball, aiming for maybe moderate topspin at most. Oh, and don't forget the 2 overgrips.
I personally can't pull it off, because I use heavy spin and low tensions. I do know someone who could probably pull it off, but he already generates a sledgehammer ball with a stock n95 18c, strung at 62 pounds with a relatively stiff synthetic gut or fresh NXT (whichever feels tighter at the moment), whenever he takes a serious cut at the ball. Actually... Scratch that... It feels like a bowling ball that has been condensed to the size of a tennis ball. He hits flat though, and swings pretty fast. If you're in that category, then using a polarized racket, you can probably generate a ball like Djokovic (though only for your level of play; you won't be #3 in the world). I'd say you need to be a minimal 4.5-5.0 to pull it off. I can't see a 4.0 or 3.5 swinging anywhere near the speeds required to make their opponent or hitting partner say "WTF?! IT FEELS LIKE THE BALL IS A BOWLING BALL!" Also, like I said, you must prefer high tensions (I'm talking 60 minimal) and actually perform very well with that.