Muster’s paint job rackets .

[teachingprotx]

I’ve asked / inquired many times but I think I may of actually found a you tube match Aussie 97 muster vs sampy…
My eyes may be playing tricks on me …
But I think muster is playing with his PT 630 which I know he played with forever off and on . I also am well aware he had his head sticks painted up to look like various Kneissl’s that he was using at various points in his career . Some he would use during hard court seasons while clay courts made him use his pt 630’s mostly .. or so we’ve heard .
My question is this . Does anyone have or ever seen a pic/ image of musters head pt 630 painted up to mimic the white / black / red accented kneissl Toms reach machine ?
I would LOVE TO SEE IT !

 

[teachingprotx]

https://imgur.com/aTe9vSD

This is the best image I can come up with . It’s awful I know , but I can definitely tell he ain’t using no kneissl Toms machine here , as the kneissl’s head shape is long and more oval shaped than the rounder Head PT 630 , as shown in this pic..

 

[teachingprotx]

What’s more is both Gus and Tom are both using the exact same racket here in their match

 

[vsbabolat]

Here you go! Looks like at frenchnopen he was using the Pro Tour 630 painted up like the Kneissl but other photos appears to be really a Kneissl

https://imgur.com/a/znWABin

https://imgur.com/a/1pQCoKr

https://imgur.com/a/UHmuPCL

 

[teachingprotx]

WOW VS !!!! Thank you sir !!! My god thank you !!!!!

 

[teachingprotx]

I would love to just hold that painted up head stick
Man so cool

 

[vsbabolat]

I’ll never understand why after winning the French Open he would change brands.

 

[JW10S]

I’ll never understand why after winning the French Open he would change brands.

He claimed the switch was because he wanted to have more success on hard courts but I'd wager in reality it came down to one thing--money.

But still the coolest thing about the switch was when he sported the reverse stencil in his strings. Back then there weren't black strings and he had racquets where the strings where inked black and the Kneissl star logo was left the string's natural color--the reverse of how racquets are normally stenciled. Epic.

 

[vsbabolat]

He claimed the switch was because he wanted to have more success on hard courts but I'd wager in reality it came down to one thing--money.

But still the coolest thing about the switch was when he sported the reverse stencil in his strings. Back then there weren't black strings and he had racquets where the strings where inked black and the Kneissl star logo was left the string's natural color--the reverse of how racquets are normally stenciled. Epic.

I remember the whole stencil thing. It was silly.
considering he played a lot with the Pro Tour 630 with a kneissl paint job, yes it came down to money. But as far wanting having more success on hard courts HEAD would have been a better partner to develop said magical racquet for him.

 

[JW10S]

I remember the whole stencil thing. It was silly.

Nah, it was cool, different and garnered attention--no fun doing what everyone else does. When I was pro in Hawaii a guy visiting from Austria signed up for some lessons from me. He was a lawyer and had done some things for Muster who had given him a couple of the real Tom's Machines that Muster had used and that you pictured in your earlier post. I got to hit with them. Different from a PT630 for sure and they were strung pretty tight with the Isospeed strings which for some reason surprised me. I actually liked the built up butt end of the grip and toyed around with that for awhile after trying them. When Muster retired from the main tour and was playing on the seniors tour he went back to HEAD which to me suggests the Kneissl deal was all about cash.

 

[retrowagen]

Well, you guys are forgetting that Muster was the last top-10 player equipped by Kneissl, in an era when the company (the tennis arm, at least) was barely surviving, kept afloat month-by-month by infusions of cash from a Saudi investor. Muster was a difficult guy to market, especially outside of the German-speaking world, and even in the German-speaking lands, he was regarded as a very arrogant sportsman. Here in America, we mostly remember him for his leg injury, for working like a madman to recover and return to the Tour, and for one very dominant clay season.

As a touring pro, you’d want to be paid to use a certain piece of equipment… even better if you’re comfortable with it and play well. I don’t know the whole backstory, but perhaps Head management felt like they could work better with Guga Kuerten, and he was more marketable, and thus Muster’s agent sought Schillings elsewhere for his client… starting in Kufstein.

I have had Head PT630’s, Toms Machines, and some of the last White Stars made, and can opine that the Kneissl/Sportastic frames are different from the Head in the head shape and cross-section, though in many other regards they are similar overall. It’s kind of like the Donnay Pro One, tailored for Andre Agassi to approximate the Prince Graphite (it took Donnay a couple tries to get the formula right, though).

I think Jürgen Melzer ultimately was the last pro playing Kneissl. It’s sad what happened to that company.

 

[teachingprotx]

Yeah man , muster is just one of those pros that looks so cool hitting balls, not fluid , jerky rather spastic , but somehow makes hitting topspin look so deliberate and hard to do..
Strange as it sounds like I’m putting him down when in fact it’s the exact opposite..
Viewing musters technique on both wings makes me tired just watching.tired and inspired ..
that’s it.....
Muster . Tired and inspired .

 

[Kevin T]

I remember reading in Tennis Magazine that Muster was famous for going for long runs, even right after finishing tough matches (Courier was rumored to do the same). I always wondered if that were true and then witnessed it myself at the '97 Cincinnati Masters. After a 2nd or 3rd round match, my girlfriend and I see Muster walking out of the court area to start his run around the grounds. Intense!

IMHO, Kneissl made the most attractive frames. I was lucky enough to find 1 Tom's Machine on the big auction site long ago and the black/silver/gold paint scheme was just stunning. I actually preferred it vs the Pro Tour 280 (I know, heresy!) but couldn't make it my main frame as I couldn't find any more. I still think the black/red circa 2006 Kneissl Red Star is the most beautiful racquet ever make. Killed my elbow, but beautiful.

 

[teachingprotx]

To me the most beautiful racket is a tie between the red star 2006 kneissl and the Volkl tr 25 .
Literally I love them both the same my all time fave looking sticks EVER !

 

[chrischris]

A friend of mine has a few Kneissl Spark rackets. Tried one recently and it was really a great racket, stable and comfortable yet fast and great plow.

 

[mctennis]

I loved the green Tom's Machine. I wish I could find a decent one to buy. I thought they played great.

 

[galain]

i always found it interesting that Muster wanted an extended length frame for hardcourts but was happier with a standard length for the clay. It would seem to make more sense the other way around where he would have had a little more time to manouever the longer stick on the dirt than on a faster hardcourt.

I recall watching Jürgen Melzer swinging a red Sportastic frame at the AO one year. I suspect it was a repainted Kneissl - the shape was very very similar. These German speaking companies should really get an English proof reader in though. Sportastic is a horrible name. Imagine showing up at school with a stick called that - you'd be labelled 'Spastic' before you could blink!

 

[michael valek]

Yes I had a few sportastics a few years ago, you could buy them from their website for like 50 euros each. Crap grips etc but basically Kneissl frames.

 

[mctennis]

Yes I had a few sportastics a few years ago, you could buy them from their website for like 50 euros each. Crap grips etc but basically Kneissl frames.

I did not know they were basically the same racquets. Of course what Sportastic = what Kneissl?

 

[galain]

I did not know they were basically the same racquets. Of course what Sportastic = what Kneissl?

i recall checking them out some time ago and I don't think they had many offerings so I was probably looking at a White Star or a Red Star in their line.

 

[michael valek]

I think alpha 16 or 18 were the red stars / white stars

 

[chrischris]

i always found it interesting that Muster wanted an extended length frame for hardcourts but was happier with a standard length for the clay. It would seem to make more sense the other way around where he would have had a little more time to manouever the longer stick on the dirt than on a faster hardcourt.

I recall watching Jürgen Melzer swinging a red Sportastic frame at the AO one year. I suspect it was a repainted Kneissl - the shape was very very similar. These German speaking companies should really get an English proof reader in though. Sportastic is a horrible name. Imagine showing up at school with a stick called that - you'd be labelled 'Spastic' before you could blink!

Medvedevish lol.

 

[galain]

Medvedevish lol.

Medvedev is a spastic??